SUMMARY OF COUNCIL MEETING ON 7 JUNE 1999
Purpose
1. The Council met on 7 June 1999, primarily to deal with the work of its three existing sub-groups, dealing respectively with:
- the S&T activities of Government Departments following the Comprehensive Spending Review;
- exploitation of the UK's Science, Engineering and Technology Base; and
- the education of young people in science, engineering and technology.
2. It also started to prepare its next programme of work by agreeing to consider an options paper at its next meeting on 23 September 1999.
Attendees
3. The meeting was chaired by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Mr Stephen Byers. The Minister for Science, Lord Sainsbury of Turville also attended with the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Robert May. The independent members present were:
Professor S Kumar Bhattacharyya, Professor Sir Alec Broers, Dr Chris Evans, Professor Julia Higgins, Dr Robert Margetts, Dame Bridget Ogilvie, Sir Robin Nicholson, Mr David Potter, Professor Sir Keith O'Nions, Ms Emma Rothschild, Professor Sir Stewart Sutherland and Sir Richard Sykes.
Discussion and Outcome
(i) Departmental S&T Activity
4. The Council considered and discussed a draft report which was presented by the sub-group's chairman, Sir Robin Nicholson.
5. The draft report had been prepared after two rounds of meetings with the Ministry of Defence (MOD): the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF): the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI): and the Department of Health (DH). These five departments had the largest expenditure on S&T, outside the dual support arrangements for funding the UK's science and engineering base.
6. At these meetings, the sub-group had explored the purpose of Departmental S&T spending, how the departments decided what they should spend money on and the level of scientific management and literacy. In the course of their work, the sub-group had also consulted the Director General of the Research Councils.
7. The draft report covered:
- the increasingly important and central role of S&T in policy formulation, decision taking and executive actions in departments;
- the strategic, forward looking approach taken to S&T by departments;
- connections within Whitehall and with Research Councils, industry and international players:
- the European R&D Framework programmes; and
- the staffing aspects of Departmental S&T including scientific management and literacy.
8. The Council agreed to the sub-group finalising its report for publication as soon as possible, preferably with the Government's response.
(ii) Exploitation
9. The Council noted that towards preparing its report for the Council's next meeting on 23 September 1999, this sub-group, led by Professor Sir Alec Broers, was concentrating on issues concerning the growth of technology based businesses in the UK .
10. More especially, the sub-group was:
(a) focusing on the role played by larger, progressive companies, acting as powerful technology engines;
(b) seeking to identify the reasons why, despite the rate of start-ups and spin-offs in the UK comparing favourably with overseas, far fewer grow into substantial businesses.
(c) looking into the funding of new technology based businesses in their post start up, development phase; and
(d) considering what other measures the government might take to promote entrepreneurship and innovation.
(iii) Education
11. Finally, the Council noted that the sub-group, led by Professor Julia Higgins, had recently commissioned the Education Department of Kings' College, London to undertake a survey among a sample of primary and secondary schools in England. Along with other sources, the results of the survey would be used to inform the report which the sub-group will be presenting, as agreed, at the Council meeting on 6 December 1999.
12. The survey would be starting towards the end of June and would comprise the issue of a questionnaire to the head teacher, a senior teacher and a junior teacher in 750 secondary schools and 2000 primary schools. Additionally, it would involve 20 focus group meetings with science teachers to be held in five English regions. In each region, four focus group meeting would be held - two for secondary school teachers and two for primary school teachers and each group meeting would involve at least 8 teachers with more than ten or less than 5 years experience respectively.
13. The Council also noted with approval the sub-group's intentions to hold a series of open meetings during the autumn to obtain the views of interested parties about the results of the survey. These would also be used to inform its intended report about meeting needs of science teachers for continuous professional development, the spread of good practice and the use they make of the considerable amount of curricula and other support provided by the many sponsors of school science.
CST Secretariat
OST
July 1999
Last revised: September 2001
