Gordon Brown to Set Ambitious New Targets for Science and Maths Education

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to announce ambitious new targets for science and maths education when he delivers the Romanes Lecture at Oxford University later today.

In the lecture, the Prime Minister will explore how the UK can capitalise on our scientific and intellectual heritage to make Britain the best country in the world in which to practice science. The Prime Minister will signal his desire to move the country away from a reliance on financial services, instead placing science and technology at the heart of the UK economy as the country emerges from recession.

Within five years, the PM will announce, 90% of state schools will be expected to deliver triple science (single subject biology, physics and chemistry) at GCSE level; up from 32% currently. The Government aims to at least double the 8.5% of state school pupils studying triple science within this time period.

The lecture follows Lord Drayson's comments earlier this month, regarding whether Government should set the priorities for scientific research as a means to achieve delivery of the innovation and scientific advance needed to strengthen the UK economy. The scientific community reacted angrily to Lord Drayson's remarks.

Speaking on the Today Programme this morning, academics Professor Don Braben and Lord Krebs discussed the need for scientific endeavour to operate at arm's length from Government: the so-called 'Haldane Principle'. The Prime Minister's speech this afternoon is bound to stimulate questions on whether, in a time of recession, the Government does plan to direct funding for scientific research more stringently; with an emphasis on targets and deliverable outcomes and away from 'blue skies' endeavour.

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Should Science Investment be Determined by Industrial and Economic Priorities?

The UK Science minister, Lord Drayson, has called for a debate about weather a larger proportion of the research budget should be allocated to areas which could directly benefit the economy.

During his lecture at The Foundation for Science and Technology, Lord Drayson said that, in light of the current economic climate, he wanted to “stimulate a debate on our national science and innovation strategy, and whether it is adequately geared up to cope with the future.”

He then went on to ask his audience whether the time had come to make choices about the balance of investment in science projects based on their compatibility with industrial and economic priorities.

This has heightened concerns amongst scientists that pure research will lose out to areas that have commercial potential.

Nick Dusic, of the Campaign for Science and Engineering in the UK (Case), told the BBC that Lord Drayson's proposal could undermine the government's hard work in building up the UK's research base over the past decade.

"There has been a lot of effort over the last few years to increase the impact of the research base, including setting grand challenges and creating new institutions to focus on translational research," he said. "More direction from the government would cause alarm across the research community”.

Read more about this story on the BBC News website

A recording and transcript of the lecture is available on The Foundation for Science and Technology website

Call for GM Debate to be Reopened

Leading agricultural scientists are calling for another debate on genetic modification (GM), claiming that we will need ‘every tool in our armory if we are to cope with the food security issues raised by population growth, climate change and environmental degradation.’

The genetic modification of plants raises important issues for science and the public. There is legitimate concern about whether GM products safe to eat and release into the environment, but they also hold enormous potential to increase yields and food quality, whilst reducing the need for pesticides.

In 2003 the Government held a national debate on the commercialisation of genetically modified crops in the UK, before setting out its overall policy on the issue in March 2004.

However, many participants felt that the exchanges made in 2003 were marred by anger and personal grievances, which prevented the central issues from being discussed rationally and answered adequately.

With estimates that food production must double by 2050 to feed an anticipated population of 9 billion (FAO), it is imperative that government considers all options at its disposal to ensure food security and mitigate human poverty in the UK. Consequently, leading scientists have called for the debate to be reopened, so that the issues can be addressed with appropriate, evidence based discussions.

Listen to a Radio 4 broadcast on the issue here.

For more information about GM crops, including government policy, click here.

Shortlisted Projects for Severn Estuary Unveiled

The Government has announced a proposed shortlist of schemes to generate renewable energy form the tides of the Severn estuary. The shortlist is comprised of various barrage and lagoon projects.

The Severn has a tidal range of 14m, making it the second-largest in the world. Successfully harnessing the energy created by the tides would make an enormous contribution to achieving renewable energy targets- the Government is committed to producing 20% of the UK’s energy from renewable sources by 2020- as well as assisting in the reduction of UK carbon emissions.

Below is the proposed shortlist:

Cardiff Weston Barrage: A barrage crossing the Severn estuary from Brean Down, near Weston super Mare to Lavernock Point, near Cardiff. Its estimated capacity is over 8.6 Gigawatts – the equivalent of eight typical coal-fired power stations. It could generate nearly 5% of UK electricity and would cost approximately £15bn to implement.

Shoots Barrage: Further upstream of the Cardiff Weston scheme. Capacity of 1.05GW, similar to a large fossil fuel plant.

Beachley Barrage: The smallest barrage on the proposed shortlist, just above the Wye River. It could generate 625MW.

Bridgwater Bay Lagoon: Lagoons are radical new proposals which impound a section of the estuary without damming it. This scheme is sited on the English shore between east of Hinkley Point and Weston super Mare. It could generate 1.36GW.

Fleming Lagoon: An impoundment on the Welsh shore of the estuary between Newport and the Severn road crossings. It too could generate 1.36GW.

Environmentalists have openly criticized the Governments decision to include the Cardiff Weston Barrage as an option. The barrage would cause severe environmental and ecological damage to the area, destroying rare habitats used by 69,000 birds and blocking the migration routes of numerous fish species.

Martin Harper, head of sustainable development at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said it was “Hugely disappointing to see the Government still pushing forward with the environmentally destructive option.”

The proposed shortlist, and the original list of projects from which it was created, are now open to a three month public consultation. The final decision on which project(s) will go ahead will be announced in 2010.

Many environmentalists are pessimistic about the outcome, and believe it is a foregone conclusion. FOE Cymru director Gordon James told the Guardian "We have long suspected that the UK government has already decided on the Cardiff to Weston Severn barrage, and that this consultation process is little more than a cosmetic exercise."

New Approach Needed to Conserving UK Biodiversity - EAC

The Environmental Audit Committee has today published its report into 'Halting UK Biodiversity Loss'. The Committee call for a new approach to address dramatic declines in biodiversity across England and in the UK's Overseas Territories (OTs).

The Committee find that the Government is on course to miss the key target to halt biodiversity loss by 2010, with many species and habitats facing severe declines and local extinctions across England. The Committee has particularly criticised the Government's policies with respect to the UK's OTs; it's failure to act in relation to previous recommendations of the Committee to protect the environment of the territories means that the biodiversity of these areas now faces its 'eleventh hour'.

The Committee call upon the Government to adopt an ecosystems approach to conservation, taking into account the implications of the policy of all Government Departments for the natural environment when making decisions and thinking beyond simply a 'protected area' approach to conservation. The Committee welcome the Government's decision to conduct an ecosystem assessment for England, but state that this should be just a first-step to a wider cross-departmental initiative.

Calling on the Government to take urgent action to protect the environment of the UK's Territories, Tim Yeo MP, Committee Chair, said: "One of the most important contributions the Government could make to slow the catastrophic global diversity loss currently occurring, would be to accept its environmental responsibility for our Overseas Territories." The Committee recommend that responsibility for the OTs is transferred from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to Defra.

See Full Report
Read the joint BES- Institute of Biology response to the consultation on 'Halting UK Biodiversity Loss'