§ Mr. HanleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has received the annual report of the Science and Engineering Research Council for 1989–90; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe annual report of the Science and Engineering Research Council for 1989–90 has been submitted to my right hon. and learned Friend under the requirements of the Science and Technology Act 1965, and a copy is being placed before the House today.
My right hon. and learned Friend and I were pleased to note a number of significant achievements through council activity during the past year, including:
- (a) the inauguration of, and initial results from, the large. electron positron (LEP) collider at CERN, the laboratory for European particle physics research in Geneva;
61 - (b) the successful completion of the Solar Maximum mission; as part of which United Kingdom instruments on board this NASA satellite provided detailed data about the Sun; and
- (c) a 10-year project at City university, resulting in a heightened ability to detect or correct faults in the electricity grid system; and
- (d) collaborative research at Oxford university, jointly funded by SERC and Rolls-Royce plc, to increase understanding of gas flows and heat transfer in turbine blades.
Following these achievements in the past year, we now look forward to learning SERC's new assessment of scientific priorities following the review of forward activities now under way.