Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Willetts Excerpts

Thursday 20th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Rosindell (Romford) (Con)]

9. What steps he plans to take to protect and support the work of the British Antarctic Survey following his decision not to merge that body with the National Oceanography Centre.

[The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)]

I saw the important work of our scientists when I visited the Falklands and the Antarctic last February. The Natural Environment Research Council has committed to maintain funding of the British Antarctic Survey at £42 million a year for the rest of this spending period. The NERC should, in future, have a discrete funding line for the Antarctic from within the ring-fenced science budget, subject to future spending reviews, to ensure that there is a visible UK commitment to Antarctic science and our presence in the region. It is a fitting tribute that the southern part of the British Antarctic Territory has been renamed Queen Elizabeth Land in honour of Her Majesty the Queen at the end of a glorious jubilee year.

[Andrew Rosindell]

The whole House and the entire nation will be delighted at the Government’s announcement that part of the British Antarctic Territory will be named after Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in this diamond jubilee year. The House is also delighted that the British Antarctic Survey has been rescued from the previous proposals. Is it possible for the British Antarctic Survey to work more closely with the Falkland Islands? Does the Minister recognise the importance of having British sovereign territories in that region of the world to conduct scientific research and endeavour?

[Mr Willetts]

I appreciate my hon. Friend’s work on behalf of the Falklands and the British presence in the Antarctic. There is already practical co-operation. I have seen for myself the support that the Falklands Islands provides to the British Antarctic Survey. While I was in the Falklands, I met the director of the newly created South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute in his office at Stanley cottage. Although the NERC cannot legally fund the institute, we are offering non-financial assistance by giving advice, hosting visits and facilitating partnerships with British universities.

[David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)]

11. What support his Department is giving to the life sciences sector.

[The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)]

Last week, the Prime Minister launched the “One Year On” report for our life sciences strategy, which included a new commitment to sequence 100,000 genomes. In the autumn statement, the Chancellor announced an additional £100 million for life sciences research and, in the past year, more than £1 billion of private sector investment has been attracted to the UK on the back of Government initiatives for the life sciences. We are therefore succeeding in creating the right environment to attract global life sciences investment.

[David Rutley]

I welcome the Government’s progress report, “Strategy for UK Life Sciences—One Year On”, and the Minister’s strong support for this vital sector. Given the critical contribution of life sciences and pharmaceuticals to Macclesfield’s local economy, what plans does he have to build on this important momentum in the year ahead?

[Mr Willetts]

We need to do more and we can do more. We are going to work closely with British businesses, including AstraZeneca, which I remember visiting with my hon. Friend in his constituency earlier this year. That company has received a conditional offer through round 3 of the regional growth fund. We are continuing to back this very important, internationally competitive industry.

[Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)]

12. What steps he plans to take to reform the law on copyright; and if he will make a statement.

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[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

16. What recent assessment he has made of his changes to higher education and to the level of student tuition fees; and if he will make a statement.

[The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)]

The proportion of English school leavers accepted by universities for 2012-13 was the second highest on record. Final data show that acceptance rates from disadvantaged areas increased. More students are getting into their first choice universities.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

But UCAS data show that there was an overall 11% fall in applications for higher education in 2012-13, and early indications are that the number of applicants for 2013-14 will fall further. Is the Minister worried by that emerging trend, and if so, what will he do about it?

[Mr Willetts]

Of course, entry to British universities is competitive, and we have many more applicants than places, but we will continue to get across the message that no student has to pay up front to go to university, and that students start paying for university only if they are earning more than £21,000. That is a very fair way of financing our universities.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

What measures is the sizzling science and higher education Minister putting in place to ensure that applicants to universities have the very best information on the outcomes of their courses?

[Mr Willetts]

For the first time, we have required that key information sets contain the information that prospective students want about, for example, employment outcomes from particular courses at particular universities. People are entitled to that information—it was not available before, but now it is.

[Mr Speaker]

I gather that that is an example of the Minister sizzling.

[Shabana Mahmood (Birmingham, Ladywood) (Lab)]

I am afraid the Minister is trying to gloss over the facts of his record. The reality is that two years on from the Government’s decision to treble tuition fees to £9,000 a year, applications have dropped by 54,000, which is 11%; acceptances are down, as are the numbers of mature learners and part-time learners; his core and margin policy has caused nothing but chaos and confusion; his AAB policy has been a dramatic failure; and to top it all off, legitimate international students are choosing to go to our competitor countries to study as a result of Home Office policies. Is not the truth that the past two years under this Government have been a disaster for students and universities alike?

[Mr Willetts]

The fact is that the confusion is over the Opposition’s policies. We know they are planning to reduce fees to £6,000, but there is no indication of what they will do to compensate universities for the loss of those revenues. The only time the hon. Lady came to the House to explain her policies, it became clear she would abolish bursaries for students under access funds. Under this Government, we have more students going to university, well-funded universities and more students getting their first choice than ever before. We are proud of those reforms.

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

17. What support he is providing for new business start-ups.

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[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

19. What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the use of satellite broadband for delivering internet access in rural areas.

[The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)]

We see satellite broadband as an essential means to deliver faster internet access for rural communities, businesses and individuals. Everywhere in Britain can therefore access broadband via satellite. This is an issue we regularly discuss with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

[Harriett Baldwin]

How will the latest round of European Space Agency negotiations support the UK companies that want to deliver satellite broadband to my constituents in West Worcestershire?

[Mr Willetts]

We got an excellent outcome from the European Space Agency ministerial last month. Britain is now the leader of the ARTES 2 programme for the development of the next generation telecommunications platform. It is great to see British businesses taking a lead here, and this will increase broadband speeds and reduce costs for UK users in rural and remote areas, making satellite broadband even more accessible.

[Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

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[Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Con)]

T3. Does the Minister agree that it is the wide range of educational provision in the higher education sector that really benefits young people, and if so, what is he doing to increase the diversity of that provision?

[The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)]

I agree with my hon. Friend about the importance of diversity, and that is why we have liberalised the rules on the size of institutions that can take the name “university”, as a result of which 10 more higher education institutions fulfilled that criterion, seven of which have already received approval from the Privy Council to become universities.

[Mr Chuka Umunna (Streatham) (Lab)]

This has been a sad week for British retail. Comet has closed its doors after 79 years of trading. I am sure that the whole House will want to convey our deepest sympathies to the 6,900 employees who have subsequently lost their jobs at the worst possible time of year. Given that in less than a year the owners appear to have lost the £50 million dowry they received to buy the business and left the taxpayer with a £49.4 million bill, will the Secretary of State commit to publishing the findings of the inquiry he has set up into this affair?

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[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

Bolton university is making up to 90 people redundant because of the fall in student numbers, while 60,000 of the young people awarded places at university last year did not turn up. Will the Minister admit that the tripling of fees has created chaos and will harm the British economy?

[Mr Willetts]

We do not recognise that description of what is going on. We have very enterprising universities, including Bolton, that are thriving as more students get their first choice of university than ever before. And, of course, there is no cap on the number of overseas students legitimately entitled to enter the country to study.

[Neil Carmichael (Stroud) (Con)]

In my constituency, we have a thriving manufacturing sector, but one area of concern I have is the availability of skills, especially in engineering. Does the Minister agree that we need to redouble our efforts on science, technology, engineering and maths—the STEM subjects—at school to ensure that we have a good pool of skills in that sector?

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[George Freeman (Mid Norfolk) (Con)]

The rising world population means that by 2050 we will need to double world production, albeit with half as much water, land and energy. Does the Minister agree that British agricultural science, not least at the Norwich research park, has a potentially huge role to play in helping the world to feed itself? May I welcome the agricultural science strategy and ask that it look to draw in as much investment from around the world into Britain’s science base as possible?

[Mr Willetts]

This is an area where British science has a lead. We have already invested more in the Norwich science park, which I visited with my hon. Friend, and we will continue to do so as part of our industrial strategy.