November 2002

Westminster Report, IEE Review

As I write, Parliament has just returned from its long summer recess and MPs are still recovering from the conference season. At present things are a little quiet for science and engineering in Westminster. A week by the seaside spent in hotels and bars can be pretty exhausting for some! Perhaps because I didn’t go to Bournemouth this year (shock!), I had the energy to ask Margaret Hodge (Minister for Lifelong Learning and Higher Education) about the fall in the number of students taking maths and physics A levels over the last 10 years. I reminded her that the number of students taking maths and physics has fallen by 30% and chemistry by 20%. I asked how the Government will increase the number of engineering graduates given this endemic problem in sixth forms. I also suggested that she meet with the Engineering and Technology Board which has been established to help resolve this very problem. She replied “I frequently meet several professional organisations that represent engineering and science interests. I have yet to receive a request from the organisation to which the honourable Gentleman referred and look forward to receiving that request. We have plans to try to increase and encourage more young people, especially girls, to take science subjects through to A-level and on to university. The recent decline is very serious and we need to provide incentives and encouragement in the school system from the youngest age to try to reverse that long-term trend.” I have suggested that the ETB send out that invitation to her pretty damn quick!

I expect that by the time you read this, the Government will have set out their legislative plans for the coming session. It is likely to be a very busy Parliamentary year with a number of huge Home Affairs Bills expected to be pushed through the Commons and Lords. As for the Government’s intentions for science and engineering, we may get a glimpse within the Queen’s Speech on 13 November. The clearest indication will probably be in the pre-budget report in mid November, when the Chancellor Gordon Brown will set out spending plans for a host of government areas including science and engineering. Although there has been little recent Parliamentary activity regarding science and engineering, I am pleased to report that some extremely positive developments have been emanating from the bowels of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Over the past year, MPs and Peers have often expressed their concern about the lack of skills training and the problem with getting women to take up science and engineering subjects. I am delighted to say that the DTI has set up a new pilot scheme to help mothers wishing to return to science and engineering. At present it is estimated that 50,000 women SET (science engineering and training) graduates are not working at any one time. Of those who return to work, only around 8,000 return to a job that makes use of their university education and training.

Under the pilot scheme, Coventry University and the DTI will provide business-based training and experience to help SET graduates return to jobs where they can use knowledge and expertise. The good news is that business is heavily involved. The scheme forms part of a national programme that enables business to access the skills and resources that reside in the higher educational institutions and research organisations within the UK. The objective is to gain strategic advantage by using high quality graduates working in companies on science and technology.

Alongside the scheme a new award has been established – the Rosalind Franklin Medal – in recognition of Rosalind Franklin whose research contributed to the discovery of DNA. The Royal Society will run the annual competition and £30,000 will be awarded to a researcher for scientific innovation.

As a staunch believer in renewable energy, I am delighted to see that there are some exciting developments in this field.

In early October, Energy Minister Brian Wilson opened an innovative energy park in West Yorkshire that will supply power up to 8000 homes, whilst cutting greenhouse gases. The Alkane Energy Park (built on the site of the former Wheldale coal mine) will convert methane from the coal shafts into Megawatts for the national grid. This technological advance is quite remarkable given that the Methane, which is the source of the energy, has been escaping since the pit closed in 1987, adding damaging greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Alkane Energy engineered a complete new seal for the mineshaft and has found a way to capture the gas and supply it to Scottish and Southern Energy plc for on site electricity generation.

Not only have Alkane established an innovative way of generating electricity, they have shown the unlimited possibilities in making the best use of up to 1000 abandoned coalmines in the UK. Estimates suggest that methane may add up to 13.8 million tonnes of green house gasses to the atmosphere. If companies like Alkane can turn this into renewable energy, they will be giving significant benefits not just to consumers, but also to the future of the planet. It is good news therefore that since 1996, Alkane Energy has accumulated a widespread portfolio of 28 licence areas covering abandoned and operating mines across the United Kingdom.

The Government’s emphasis on renewable energy is to be welcomed. The DTI have conducted a wide public consultation on energy policy. They have examined over 1600 responses and there seem little doubt that there is strong public support for energy efficiency and renewable forms of energy. People are also clearly interested in the environmental aspects of energy policy.

Given the clear need to cut pollution, Brian Wilson is right when he said in a recent speech that any decision to let our existing nuclear industry – which currently supplies 25% of our electricity – run down will make it far more difficult for Britain to pursue a policy of reducing carbon emissions.

I agree with him when he says that “we should be vastly more ambitious for renewables”. If many European countries can make significant advances in renewable energy, we should have the same capability. For example, in Spain, 17% of electricity is generated through renewables compared to Britain’s paltry 2.6%. By 2010, Spain will have increased this to 24% and Britain will still be lagging way behind at 10%.