UK science - politicians get the seven-year itch

LONDON, July 17 (Science Analysed) According to an analysis just published, British scientists are living on "a pittance"; only half of the Wellcome Trust's research students are staying on, because of "poor salaries and career structures"; work permits and visa arrangements are taking no account of the internationalism of modern science; there is an "intolerable" lack of women scientists in the UK; school science labs are "woeful"; the science budget should be doubled, but many government departments are reducing R&D spending; long start-up times, high costs and fragmented capacity at National Health Service sites are compromising clinical research; a "silo budget mentality" and incoherent planning across departments is strait-jacketing research policy; the UK is under-performing in patenting; most of the issues raised in the last (1993) government White Paper remain to be solved.

These are some of the points that should be addressed in the forthcoming White Paper...