§ 13. Mr. Wootton Daviesasked the Lord President of the Council if, in view of the general charges made at the recent conference of the British Association for the Advancement of Science that the fullest use is not being made of scientific methods in our war production, he will take suitable action with a view to remedying this failure?
§ Sir J. AndersonWhile I cannot admit the inference which may well be drawn from my hon. Friend's Question, that the generally held view at the recent conference of the British Association was that1386W scientific methods are not as fully employed as possible by His Majesty's Government in organising production for war, I can assure him that co-operation between Government Departments engaged on all forms of war production was never closer than at present, and is constantly increasing. Further, in order to ensure the fullest possible employment of scientific methods and discoveries in every field of the war effort, the Government, in addition to the pre-war Scientific Departments connected with industrial, medical and agricultural research, and the scientific directorates already established in each of the Service Departments, have since the war set up two independent committees—the Scientific Advisory Committee and the Engineering Advisory Committee, under the chairmanship of my right hon. and Noble Friend the Paymaster-General, by whom the whole position of the employment of science in the war effort is kept under constant review.