Drayson supports oversight call

By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News, Le Bourget

Lord Drayson: MPs make a strong case

Lord Drayson says he supports a move to re-establish the old House of Commons Science and Technology committee.

The science minister was reacting to concerns that his brief needed specific oversight now that it was in the new DBIS super-department.

Some MPs are worried that science policy could get lost in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

But speaking at the Paris air show, Lord Drayson sought to reassure MPs about government intentions.

"I can understand people's concerns - whenever there are reshuffles and changes, people naturally want to understand what the impact is," he told BBC News.

"However, as science minister, I believe that the changes which have been announced are extremely positive for science."

He said the changes emphasised the importance of science and technology to the health of the economy.

The recent government reshuffle saw the union of the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS).

The merger prompted those MPs who scrutinise science policy to wonder how research interests could be properly maintained in the super-department.

They called for the re-establishment of the old House of Commons Science and Technology committee which was abolished in 2007.

They said it was "critical both to reassure the science community that proper examination of science and engineering across government remains a priority, and to ensure MPs have an effective and transparent arena in which to hold the government's science policy to account".

Lord Drayson backed that call: "That's obviously a matter for the House authorities but I think the importance of science, the importance of technology, means those arguments are strong ones and I would support them."

The peer, who came to the air show direct from Le Mans where he had been racing in the famous 24-hour motor race, was also given control of the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) science budget in the reshuffle.

The MoD currently spends more than £2bn per year on research.

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