HL Deb 04 July 1994 vol 556 cc61-2WA
Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Which minister is now responsible for the co-ordination of maritime research.

The Minister of State, Department for Education (Baroness Blatch)

Several Ministers have an interst in aspects of maritime research. Their interests are co-ordinated through the Inter-Agency Committee on Marine Science and Technology, chaired by the Office of Science and Technology, for which the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has responsibility.

Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the reasons for which there is at present no Maritime Research Council.

Baroness Blatch

There was little support in any quarter for the creation of such a council during the consultation period leading up to the 1993 White PaperRealising Our Potential, which announced the restructuring of the Research Council system. Research in marine sciences and technology continues to be funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council.

Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the Japanese system on which the 15 Foresight "sectors" have been partly modelled included maritime research, and what is the reason for such a sector being omitted in the proposed British system.

Baroness Blatch

The latest Japanese Technology Forecast, published in 1992, included maritime research in one of its 16 categories-Maritime Science and Earth Science. The sectors for the UK Foresight Programme have been defined in terms of markets rather than technologies or sciences. Hence, the potential of maritime research should be covered in a wide range of the UK programme's sectors: for example, agriculture, natural resources and environment, construction, energy, food and drink, leisure and learning, and transport.