UK needs bigger role for science in government, says chief scientist

There is a person by the name ofClare Wilson.

Patrick Vallance is the UK government's chief scientific adviser.

Vallance said at New Scientist Live on Sunday that placing greater priority on science will lead to greater military security, more resilience to future threats from Pandemics and Climate Change and will boost the country's economy.

The government seems to be focused on growth. He said that if you want to grow, then you need to have science, engineering and technology.

Eight out of the top 10 companies are science and technology companies. There is a positive relationship between R&D spend and productivity.

Vallance called for more graduates in science, technology, and engineering to be hired in the civil service.

In every aspect of government, science, technology and engineering has a part to play: what our healthcare looks like, every aspect of transport, how towns are designed, how green spaces are used to improve our lives and the role of technology in guaranteeing justice.

I don't think it's possible to think of a single policy area that wouldn't be affected by science.

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According to a science capability review ordered by Vallance, the amount of spending on scientific research in some government departments has fallen over the past 10 years.

You have effectively declared yourself to be a no-growth, no-innovation commodity if you say you will spend 0.1 per cent on R&D. Government is supposed to be something like that. It has to be innovative.

Only a small percentage of undergraduates recruited to the civil service career pathway had a science degree. The goal is to raise this to half the total by the year 2024. Vallance said that 10 percent of the premier graduate intake scheme has science degrees.