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CaSE E-Bulletin July 2010
In This E-Bulletin
Change of Address
Securing Our Economic Future
The Budget
Migrant Cap
New Parliament
Links Day
CaSE Blog
Upcoming Work
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Diary Highlights
06/07/10 Met with policy staff from the Royal Academy of Engineering

06/07/10 Met with David Mowat MP

05/07/10 Met with representatives from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills

05/07/10 Met with Chi Onwurah MP

01/07/10 CaSE's Executive Committee met


29/06/10 Met with policy staff from the AMRC and the Biochemical Society

28/06/10 Met with the Institute of Chemical Engineers

28/06/10 Attended the Royal Society Annual Science Policy Centre debate

25/06/10 Met with the Geological Society

24/06/10 Met with the science policy writer from Nature

24/06/10 Met with the Education Section from the Royal Society

22/06/10 Attended Parliamentary Links Day

17/06/10 Met with Virgin Galactic

17/06/10 Attended The Foundation for Science and Technology meeting in honour of 350th Years of the Royal Society.

17/06/10 Met with Graham Evans MP

17/06/10 Met with staff of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee

17/06/10 Met with staff from the Parliamentary Office of Science Technology

14/06/10 Met with Rachel Reeves MP

10/06/10 Met with Research Fortnight

10/06/10 Met with the Open University

08/06/2010 Met with members of the shadow Business, Innovation and Skills team from the Labour Party, including the Shadow Secretary of State, Pat McFadden

08/06/2010 Met with Dr Julian Huppert, the new MP for Cambridge

07/06/2010 Attended the official opening of Charles Darwin House

03/06/2010 Met with Universities UK

04/06/2010 Met with the Research Information Network

01/06/10 Met with AMRC to discuss post-election work



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Change of Address
CaSE has moved offices. The new address is:
 
Campaign for Science & Engineering
Gordon House
29 Gordon Square
London
WC1H 0PP

Telephone numbers remain the same: 
Imran Khan, Director, 020 7679 4995
Hilary Leevers, Assistant Director, 020 7679 4995
Nick Hall, Research & Administrator, 020 7679 4994
David Hawksett, Membership Liaison, 020 7679 4994
Securing our economic future with science & engineering

CaSE coordinated a letter to The Times newspaper (14/06/2010) from business leaders from some of Britain's biggest high-tech companies - whose total R&D spend is more than twice the government's science budget. The letter makes the case for continued public sector support for science and engineering to give private investors the security to undertake long-term projects in the UK.

CaSE Director Imran Khan has written an article in The Guardian newspaper (30/06/2010), calling on the government to throw its weight behind sectors that deliver economic growth, namely science and engineering, in order to reduce the budget deficit.

CaSE published a 4 page pre-budget briefing that makes the argument that if your aim is to cut the budget deficit, you need to spend more on education, research and development - certainly not less. The briefing places UK investment in an international context, outlines the return on investment, describes the short- and long-term impacts of cuts, and gives the imperative to invest.

The Budget

CaSE responded to last month's budget by calling on the government to adopt a long-term plan for science spending. Commenting on the budget, CaSE Director Imran Khan said, "Today wasn't about setting the science budget - we will have to wait until the CSR in the autumn to see if the Government has understood the necessity of investing in science and engineering to secure economic growth. Stable public spending - and certainly not a spending cut - is essential for encouraging R&D investors to build the UK's high-skills, high-tech economy of tomorrow."
Proposed Cap on Non-EU Economic Migrants
CaSE has produced a one page briefing warning that an annual cap on non-EU economic migrants entering the UK could have devastating consequences for UK universities and industries, which may in turn hinder or stall the economic recovery.

Statistics obtained by the new Lib Dem MP for Cambridge Julian Huppert show that the UK had a net outflow of non-EU economic migrants in the last year for which data was available, which puts a large question mark over the Government's proposals.

The Home Office has launched a consultation on
their plans (see below) and announced an emergency interim cap.
Working with the New Parliament
CaSE congratulates Andrew Miller MP on his election as Chair of the House of Commons Science & Technology Committee in the new parliament and looks forward to working with him.

CaSE has met with a number of MPs, including Roger Williams, Julian Huppert, Rachel Reeves, and Graham Evans, as well as representatives from the Parliamentary Office for Science & Technology, House of Commons S&T Committee, and the Labour Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Pat McFadden, and his adviser.
Parliamentary Links Day
CaSE attended 'Science and the Parliament' Links Day 2010, organised by the RSC, which seeks to promote a stronger relationship between parliament and the science and engineering community. CaSE Director Imran Khan spoke at the event, which was co-sponsored by CaSE, along with Science Minister David Willetts, Shadow Energy and Climate Change Minister, Ed Milliband, and the Government Chief Scientific Adviser Prof. John Beddington.
 
Read a summary of the event on the CaSE blog, including a transcript of Imran's speech
CaSE Blog

The CaSE blog provides ideas and analysis on science and engineering policy developments in the UK. Recent posts include:
  • Martin Griffiths, adviser at the Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology, outlines the new landscape for science in parliament
  • Annette Williams, Director of the UK Resource Centre for Women, on gender equality in SET
  • Hugo Donaldson, Policy Adviser at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, on the need to educate tomorrow's engineers
  • Dr Hilary Leevers, CaSE's Assistant Director, on science, the new parliament and the budget
  • CaSE Director Imran Khan has also blogged for the New Scientist S-Word on the need to invest in science to grow the economy and has discussed opposition science spokespeople.
CaSE's upcoming work
  • Responding to the Migration Advisory Committee's consultation on government plans to introduce an annual limit on economic migration to the UK
    Consultation deadline: 7th September
  • Examining the government's plans for electoral reform and what effect they might have on the quality of scientific expertise in the House of Lords
  • CaSE is also reviewing the proposed cuts to the Regional Development Agency budgets and the potential effect on science and innovation funding in the regions. If any organisation is already doing work in this area or would be interested in helping CaSE  please get in touch.
For more information on our activities go to our website www.sciencecampaign.org.uk
 
To contact us please telephone 0207 679 4994 or email [email protected]