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28 Nov 2007 : Column 502W—continued
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Business Resource Efficiency and Waste Programme
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what plans he has for the BREW programme; and if he will make a statement. [166462]
Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
The Business Resource Efficiency and Resource (BREW) programme was set up to give £284 million additional landfill taxes back to business over three years (from April 2005 to March 2008) through funding for resource efficiency and waste projects.
Future funding of the BREW programme will be subject to future spending decisions which will be carefully balanced with other departmental priorities in tackling waste and climate change.
Departmental Publicity
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much has been spent by his Department on advertising in the last 12 months. [167954]
Mr. Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of machinery of government changes on 28 June. Since that date the Department has spent a total of £2,444,194 on advertising.
Departmental Standards
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he expects to publish his Department's autumn performance report. [164870]
Mr. Lammy: The Department is planning to publish its Autumn Performance Report for 2007 before the house rises for the Christmas recess.
Nanotechnology
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if his Department will assess the potential effect of nanotechnology on the high technology industry; and if his Department will fund (a) relevant skills training and (b) public engagement campaigns to support the development of nanotechnology. [167530]
Ian Pearson: We have recognised that nanotechnology underpins a number of key technology areas where the UK has a strong industrial base, including in the areas of advanced materials, bioscience and healthcare, electronics, and advanced manufacturing. The Technology Strategy Board is currently reviewing its strategies for these technology areas as well as for emerging technologies.
DTI funded two public engagement activities, Nanodialogues and the Nanotechnology Engagement Group (NEG), the final reports of which were launched in June 2007. The cross-Departmental Nanotechnology Research Coordination Group (NRCG) is evaluating the findings from that work to determine what further public engagement is needed.
DIUS and GO-Science are also taking forward the activities begun by the DTI to gain expert, stakeholder and public views on future scenarios for science and
technology development, including elements related to nanotechnology. The results of this work are now being assessed with a view to prioritising areas for future public engagement work.
Additionally, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is implementing a programme in nanoscience through engineering to application, in order to build on the platform of earlier investments and to realise the benefits of the technology for society and the economy. The programme has identified doctoral training centres as a key way of enhancing the skills base in this area. EPSRC is also in the process of changing its collaborative training accounts into knowledge transfer accounts and it is possible that these will support training in the nanotechnology area aimed at users.
Research: Finance
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much of the £1 billion announced on the publication of the Sainsbury Review to be spent on business, innovation and technology development is additional spending not previously announced. [166878]
Ian Pearson: The Technology Strategy Board will develop and lead a strategic programme worth £1 billion over the next three years (the upcoming CSR period), in partnership with the research councils and the regional development agencies (RDA). This includes £180 million which will be earmarked by the RDAs and £120 million by the research councils to spend jointly on activities with the TSB. The £1 billion is all new money not previously announced.
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what public spending on research and development was (a) in real terms and (b) as a share of gross domestic product in each year since 1992, broken down by (i) region and (ii) county; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent figures for the private sector over the same period. [167214]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 26 November 2007]: Gross expenditure on research and development data is only available at a national level. It is therefore not possible to produce real or percentage of GDP estimates by region split by private and public expenditure. Business expenditure as a percentage of GDP is, however, available at a regional level (but not at a county level). The following tables shows business expenditure on research and development by region (in real terms, 2006 prices).
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