Britain's finance minister Gordon Brown met with high-level scientists on Tuesday morning (March 2) to give some substance to his promise to increase funding for basic science and engineering.
He announced firm plans to review funding and policies at a breakfast seminar with luminaries that included chief scientific advisor David King, the Royal Society's Robert May, Colin Blakemore of the Medical Research Council, Mark Walport of the Wellcome Trust, and others.
A 10-year investment plan will be announced as a central priority for this summer's Spending Review, Brown said. “We have to make it a priority as a nation to invest in what is the key to our whole economic future and well being—our science and skills,” he told the meeting.
Over the next few months, the government will consult the scientific community, universities and research institutes, charities, and business on the detail of the plan, he said.
Mark Walport ...
