§ Dr. IddonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to enhance science in his Department since the publication of the Government's science strategy, Investing in Innovation. [162246]
§ Ruth KellyHM Treasury works with the Office of Science and Technology, the DTI and the DfES on the implementation of the Government's science strategy, Investing in Innovation. HM Treasury's own direct expenditure on science and research is relatively small and is limited to economic advice, analysis and statistics: for example, during 2002–03, around £250,000 was spent on some 15 projects funded from the Macroeconomic Research Budget.
A 10-year investment framework for science and innovation, on which a consultation document was published recently1, will be published alongside the 2004 spending review. This is also a joint project between HM Treasury, the Office of Science and Technology, the DTI and the DfES, and will look at a number of areas of Government policy in relation to science and innovation, including ensuring that Government Departments 847W remain well placed to exploit the opportunities that science and research have to offer. In particular, it will build on the 2002 Cross-Cutting Review of Science and Research, which fed into Investing in Innovation and set out recommendations to improve the management of Government Departments' research strategies and budgets.
1 Science and innovation: working towards a ten-year investment framework, HMT, DfES & DTI, 16 March 2004.