§ Dr. IddonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to enhance science in his Department since the publication of the Government's science strategy, "Investing in Innovation". [162253]
§ Mr. IngramScience and technology has a key role to play in the UK's transition to smaller, but technically advanced, network enabled forces and the UK's war on terror. The Ministry of Defence remains committed to ensuring science feeds into both its policy-making work on future capabilities and also into the defence equipment programme. The MOD has historically 15W invested considerable sums in technological research for defence purposes and the science and technology budget has remained stable over the last three years.
The MOD science and technology programme has been aligned with defence policy and the capability strategies that flow from it for some considerable time. The MOD is now managing its research programme by outputs to ensure science and technology is focussed on meeting policy and its high level customer needs. Major customers for science and technology in the MOD outline their requirements, which align with MOD's priorities and high level needs, and a detailed research programme is designed to deliver these strategies. This approach is designed to draw together Government, industrial and university sectors in new partnerships, such as Defence Technology centers, while at the same time maximising the opportunities for wider commercial exploitation from MOD investments.