Science Budget (Hansard, 22 November 2000)

§ The Minister for Science, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)

As a result of the spending review, the Science Budget has been increased by £725 million over the next three years. This represents an increase in the Government's investment in science of an average of 7 per cent per year in real terms over the next three years. Once again the Government are making it clear that they regard a healthy science and engineering base as critical to the nation's well-being.

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After taking advice from the Director General of the Research Councils, it has been decided that the Science Budget should be allocated as follows. A total of £356 million is for investment in science and engineering research; of this, £252 million is to be spent over three years on three high-profile programmes across the research councils. The three programmes are as follows:

Genomics: a £110 million investment to increase understanding of gene function and related applications. This should lead to the development of new diagnostics, drugs and materials;

E-science: a £98 million investment to solve key problems of processing, communicating, storing and accessing data across a range of scientific disciplines, with additional investment to develop core generic technologies. This investment is absolutely essential for large scale, modern science, but I expect it to have important industrial implications over the coming decade;

Basic technology: a £44 million investment to build up the UK's technology capability. This has value in itself but will also act as the springboard for more advanced science.

A £1 billion Science Research Investment Fund (SRIF) will fund renewal and development: £375 million of this will come from the Science Budget, £300 million from the Department for Education and Employment and £225 million from the Wellcome Trust. My department is currently discussing with other interested parties the basis for the allocating of £900 million of this fund to universities.

The remaining £100 million of SRIF will be invested in research council institutes and large science facilities. The allocations I am announcing today to the research councils include £32 million of this. The remainder will be allocated later this year.

There will be a new £140 million Higher Education Innovation Fund to encourage exploitation of knowledge by higher education institutions. This will incorporate the current Higher Education Reach Out to Business and the Community Fund (HEROBC). This total includes around £60 million from the Department for Education and Employment and £80 million from the Science Budget. There is also £20 million from the Science Budget for the University Challenge and Science Enterprise Challenge Schemes.

Thirty-four million pounds is being allocated to the research councils to fund increases in the basic PhD stipends from £6,800 this academic year to £9,000 in 2003–04. This represents an increase of 23 per cent in real terms over the period, following the Comprehensive Spending Review in 1998. It sends another clear signal that the Government believe that postgraduate research should no longer be seen as a Cinderella career choice.

The detailed allocation is as follows. Further details are available in a report I am publishing today The Science Budget 2001–02 to 2003–04, which I have placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

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£ million
	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	Total
Resource and capital, figures include baseline and allocation of new funds
Allocations to cross-council programme:
Genomics	15.000	39.500	55.500	110.000
E-science	13.000	29.500	55.500	98.000
Basic technology	2.000	15.000	27.000	44.000
Allocations to research councils: (excluding cross-council programmes)
MRC	339.614	349.930	356.151	1,047.695
BBSRC	209.987	219.603	226.151	865.741
NERC	191.865	201.414	208.750	602.030
EPSRC	426.202	429.540	436.911	1,292.653
PPARC	203.289	212.383	217.208	632.881
ESRC	73.447	79.263	85.033	237.742
CCLRC	6.421	6.613	7.452	20.486
Allocations to other areas:
Research council pensions schemes	26.970	28.450	29.740	85.160
Royal Society	25.945	28.745	29.245	83.935
Royal Academy of Engineering	4.270	4.770	5.270	14.310
DIAMOND	20.000	20.000	20.000	60.000
Joint Infrastructure Fund	125.000	—	—	125.000
Science Research Investment Fund	—	125.000	250.000	375.000
Joint Research Equipment Initiative	10.000	10.000	10.000	30.000
Capital yet to be allocated	—	34.000	34.000	68.000
Higher Education Innovation Fund	20.000	20.000	40.000	80.000
University Challenge	—	5.000	—	5.000
Science Enterprise Challenge	—	5.000	10.000	15.000
Exploitation of discoveries at public sector research establishment	10.000	—	—	10.000
Foresight Challenge	—	3.000	5.000	8.000
Cambridge—MIT Institute	14.000	14.000	14.000	42.000
OST initiatives	3.000	3.100	3.350	9.450
OST administration costs	11.192	11.192	11.192	33.576
Exchange rate and contingency reserve	15.264	15.464	18.014	46.742
Total	1,766.467	1,810.487	2,155.467	5,832.401