14 July 1998
DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
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BECKETT HAILS 1.1 BILLION POUNDS BOOST FOR SCIENCE
Welcoming today's announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Gordon Brown of the results of the Comprehensive Spending Review,
Margaret Beckett, President of the Board of Trade said:
Today's settlement confirms that science will receive a 1.1 bn pounds
boost - 700m pounds from DTI and 400m pounds through a Public
Private Partnership deal with the Wellcome Trust. This extra
funding will be a major enhancement of the UK science and
engineering base and will greatly assist the UK in maintaining its
position as world-leader in technological products.
The CSR has confirmed the DTI's vital role as a key economic
Department of State. It positions the Department as an active
partner with business - encouraging and supporting companies large
and small in their bid to be productive and competitive in markets
at home and abroad.
Key Targets
By the end of this Parliament:
- the Department will meet published targets for improvements in the
performance of businesses it supports
- the number of companies spun off annually from the science and
engineering base will increase by 50 per cent
- the science and engineering base will maintain its quality,
relevance and cost-effectiveness, as measured by agreed
international standards
- a comprehensive programme of liberalisation in world trade and
investment will be agreed internationally.
Headline changes and reforms
Making UK science fit for the Millennium
We will transform the science base, after years of under-funding, in
a unique partnership with the Wellcome Trust. More than 1.1bn pounds
of new money is to be invested in science, in a partnership deal
between DTI and the Wellcome Trust who are contributing 400m pounds
of that investment. In addition to this, the Department for
Education and Employment will be investing significant new resources
in university research.
DTI will also increase the rate at which scientific knowledge is
turned into job and wealth-creating business successes, through the
commercial spin off of university research, aided by 50 million
pounds University Challenge scheme, through similar efforts in
Government research establishments, and by fostering closer
collaboration between science and industry.
Boosting performance across business
The CSR has confirmed key priorities for DTI's business support
programmes, focused on tackling the key barriers to growth -
especially for innovative and high-growth SMEs. DTI's
Competitiveness White Paper to be published in the Autumn will set
out a coherent portfolio of support aimed at these priorities. This
will be developed in partnership with business, through consultation
on a new Business Support Strategy to be published alongside the
White Paper.
Key numbers (#m) 1998/99 1999/ 2000/ 2001/
2000 2001 2002
Science 1349 1485 1599 1670
Non-Science 1761 1853 2107 2053
Total DTI 3088 3316 3683 3700
Regulatory Departments 22 22 23 23
Total Trade and Industry 3110 3338 3706 3723
of which: Current 2771 2976 3266 3233
Capital 339 361 440 490
The Department is responsible on behalf of the Government for meeting
the cost of major liabilities, for instance in relation to coal
health claims, dating back many years. This settlement sets in
place arrangements under which the Department can discharge these
obligations - the size of which is large but uncertain - without
risking damage to its core business support activities. This will
greatly enhance the Department's ability to plan its programmes on
the long- term basis for which business has consistently asked.
Note for Editors
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced the start of the
Comprehensive Spending Review in a statement to the House of Commons
on 11 June 1997. The Review had been promised in the 1997 Labour
Election Manifesto.
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# = pounds sterling