31/03/06 The future of science
CaSE today urged the Government to invest in the system of science education to secure the future of science, and the knowledge economy, in the UK. At a seminar at the Department of Trade & Industry, CaSE argued that it was a mistake to assume that the UK would automatically see increased prosperity by 2020. "The UK can thrive in the coming decades, but only if it ensures that it is a competitive place for profitable companies," said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of CaSE, who attended the DTI's meeting. "With schools short of 3,000 maths teachers, we are in severe danger of not being able to provide a suitable workforce to compete in the global economy".

23/03/06 Scientific competitiveness
CaSE today called on the Government to take more action to make Britain a competitive place for scientific investment. In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, CaSE said the Chancellor needs to do two things. "He needs to make science teaching a really attractive career for good mathematicians and physicists, and to drive down the costs to industry of investing in British research and development," said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of CaSE. In the Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Daily Mail and Financial Times, CaSE reinforces the case that while it is heartening to hear the Chancellor say 'science' 18 times in his Budget speech, the UK economy is in a fierce competitive with the rest of the world, and Britain needs to work extremely hard to provide the flow of well-trained people it needs to succeed in the 21st century.

22/03/06 Budget
CaSE today welcomed the Chancellor’s focus on science in his Budget Speech, but warned that the nation’s shortage of mathematics and scientific skills could be so severe that the UK cannot yet guarantee to succeed in high-technology business over the coming years.

read the press release

read a slightly more detailed analysis

21/03/06 A Year of CaSE
It is exactly a year since the Chairman, Professor Richard Joyner, announced CaSE's new name at a press launch in the House of Commons. Commenting on the last year, Professor Joyner said, "Over the last twelve months, we have proved that under the name of Campaign for Science & Engineering, we are being ever-more effective on behalf of the scientific and engineering community. In that time, we have been pressing the case for science at Number 10, the Treasury, the DfES, the DTI, as well as in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. We continue to be the loudest, clearest voice with the sole focus of campaigning on issues of importance across the science and engineering spectrum, from science in schools to high-technology industrial investment. And our membership continues to grow. We achieved a great deal under the old name of Save British Science, and as CaSE, we are proud to be continuing that tradition of achievement."

20/03/06 Preparing for the Budget
CaSE today calls on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to use his Budget on Wednesday to strengthen education and reduce the costs of industrial research. In an article for the Financial Times, CaSE argues that Gordon Brown's strategy for making the UK the best place in the world for science is not yet working partly because companies find it expensive and therefore uncompetitive to invest in British science and engineering, and partly because the education system is not fit for the 21st Century. "There are nowhere near enough maths and physics teachers in schools," said Dr Peter Cotgreave of CaSE, "and the whole edcuational edifice is therefore built on shaky foundations." The FT article concludes "The single most important thing the Chancellor could do for the British economy in the long term is to announce serious measures to make teaching seem like and attractive career to clever physicists and mathematicians".

read the article

17/03/06 Knowledge Transfer
CaSE today urged the Government to concentrate more on allowing universities to generate new knowledge and companies to exploit it, rather than attempting to turn every academic into an entrepreneur. In its evidence to a House of Common inquiry on 'knowledge transfer,' CaSE points out that policy has concentrated on pushing the universities to commercialise their results rather than on encouraging the private sector to exploit the research base. "University research exists to generate new knowledge," said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of CaSE, "and if we concentrate too much on forcing universities to try and commercialise their results, we'll end up losing some of what makes them such valuable assets in the first place".

read CaSE's evidence to the inquiry

16/03/06 Science in Wales
CaSE today made a strong case for the Welsh Assembly Government to have a serious science policy, based on the excellent science base Wales already enjoys. In an article in Wales's national newspaper, the Western Mail, CaSE points out that although there are many great scientists in Wales, the country is not doing enough to support science and technology.

15/03/06 Support for British science
CaSE today calls for the Government to address the problems caused by changes in the funding regime for science. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph CaSE points out that decisions to close laboratories are being made on an ad hoc basis without any real strategy, and that the Government needs to work more effectively to encourage private sector investment in research. "All the new money for science has been extremely welcome," said Dr Peter Cotgreave, commenting on the letter, "but recent closures have shown that we need a more concerted effort".
The substantive text of the letter is given below:
Inevitably, reports of the closure of Government research laboratories focus on the details of the ecological facilities that are currently under threat (Daily Telegraph, March 14) but these form one element of a much larger picture.
Having introduced more rigorous accounting methods into its funding of science (called ‘fell economic costing’), the Government has realised what the science community has been saying for decades – there is simply not enough money available to pay for the amount of research the Government expects. This raises two problems.
First, decisions about various closures are made by different agencies and do not necessarily add up to the overall research portfolio the country needs. This is clear from your report that the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs opposes the Department of Trade and Industry’s current closure programme. Second, having correctly identified that the UK’s performance in science and engineering will be a large element of its economic success or failure in the coming decades, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor must decide how to fund their stated ambition of making Britain ‘the best place in the world for science’.Private sector investment in research fell in the UK last year, while it rose in most other industrialised nations. We need to attract more scientific investment, and are unlikely to succeed if companies see different parts of our Government squabbling over which bits of the British science base to close down.

14/03/06 Peter Cotgreave met with Dr John Mulvey, former Director of Save British Science

09/03/06 Investment in education
CaSE today welcomed the House of Commons warnings about investment in education, but was disappointed the Education Committee had failed to mention science in its report. "The Education Committee has warned that schools and universities must be prepared to see falling growth in their budgets, and they're especially worried about universities," said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of CaSE. "This chimes with what CaSE has already said about funding science in universities. We were disappointed that the Education Committee did not lambast the Department for Education & Skills for its failure to concentrate on science in its Annual Report".