May 2001

Westminster Report, IEE Review

I wrote a couple of months ago that by the time you read the article I had written, we would probably be in the middle of a general election campaign. I was wrong. The Foot and Mouth disease outbreak put paid to that. But once again, I expect that by the time you read this be in Report , we will indeed be in the midst of the election campaign. Parliament will be dissolved and so, by definition, it follows that there will be no Members of Parliament. Just candidates for election.

All 659 MPs will be unceremoniously disconnected from the “@parliament.uk” email server operated from Great George Street just around the corner from the Palace of Westminster. We will have to make other arrangements to stay in touch electronically. I have recommended to all my colleagues that they use waitrose.com which can be used with Outlook: the system used in the House of Commons. However, it might be surprising to readers that at the last count, only about a third of all MPs are connected to the internet. Even fewer have websites. This lack of technical expertise and confidence is often demonstrated in the quality of speeches made on technical matters.

This is a pity. Their must be an inquiry into the management of the current foot and mouth outbreak. Nothing seems to have been learned from the outbreak in 1967 and the report that followed. Neither have lessons been learned from the swine fever outbreak less than two years ago. Certainly in the Lichfield constituency which has had more than its fair share of infections, farmers want answers. At the time of writing this article at the end of April, over 1,500 farms have been infected, but over 6,300 farms have had – or will have – their animals slaughtered. Few people so far realise the sheer scale of the cull. Has the Government been too crude and heavy handed in its response to foot and mouth? Parliament will need an intelligent and informed debate about this crisis when the inquiry is published.

The election delay has meant that there have been a few extra unexpected weeks in Parliament (in between the Easter Recess). You will be pleased to know that some MPs have used the time wisely to promote the cause of science and engineering.

However, there was one small blow. Labour MP Claire Curtis Thomas who, as you will know from these columns, is one of the biggest champions of engineering interests in the Commons, stood down from the Science and Technology Select Committee. She will be replaced by Tony McWalter MP.

Since no explanation was given for this change in committee membership, I asked the Government why at this late stage in the Parliament, two people decided to change membership on this important committee? I pointed out that Mrs Curtis Thomas had served well on the Committee and had promoted engineering both in the Commons Chamber and in Westminster Hall. She had consistently raised questions about the status of chartered engineering and the Engineering Council. Unfortunately, the Government Whips gave no indication as to why the change had been made and the Committee change was agreed by the MPs present.

Following the welcome announcement that a Science and Technology Unit would be established within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, I requested that Foreign Minister John Battle, set out the Unit's terms of reference and explain whether it would include engineering. Responding via a Commons Written Answer, Mr Battle said that the new Unit would be responsible for supporting wealth creation in Britain, through the provision of information about science, engineering, and technology developments in key overseas countries to a customer base in UK industry and the research community.

The intention of the Unit is to ensure that the Foreign Office promotes Britain as a modern and technologically advanced country in order to encourage research and development collaboration, inward investment and trade in high tech sectors.

Mr Battle also assured me that the remit of the Unit will include responsibility for supporting the international, science and engineering (SET) activities of the UK research community and industry. It will work closely with other Government departments and external organisations, including engineering institutions and university engineering departments. This is good news and will help to ensure that British engineering interests are represented to business and Government's abroad. I hope that the Unit works closely with the Department of Trade and Industry to ensure that it complements existing DTI initiatives rather than duplicating and wasting scarce resources.

MPs are doing what they can to ensure that the Government pays every effort to encourage engineer recruitment and skills for young people. Dr Brian Iddon MP asked Trade and Industry Minister Alan Johnson, to set out the targets the DTI has set for the recruitment of engineers over the next ten years. Dr Iddon also wanted to know what account the DTI was taking of UCAS acceptances for engineering degrees.

In answer, the Minister said that although the Government did not set official targets, there was careful consultation with employers, national training organisations and UCAS. Mr Johnson acknowledged that there was a need for improved information on the developing skills needed in engineering over the long term. The need for further information was currently being considered in detail by the Engineering Council, Education and Training Group, as part of the transitional arrangements for the establishment of the Engineering and Technology Board in October 2001.

In a welcome development, the Minister added that the Government would commit £6 million over three years to the Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Programme. This initiative aims to provide young people and science teachers with access to the very best business sponsored support through each Learning and Skills Council. The key objective will be to ensure that every young person in Britain under 16 should have the opportunity to experience an appropriate STEM activity at least once in each Key Stage.