Written question asked by John Denham (Labour) on Friday, 29 October 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 18 November 2004. It was answered by Kim Howells (Labour) on Thursday, 18 November 2004 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment he has made of the career paths open to scientists in higher education; and what plans he has to improve the career opportunities for scientists in higher education. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the career paths open to scientists in higher education; and what plans he has to improve the career opportunities for scientists in higher education. [195635] Dr. Howells: The Roberts' Review, SET for Success (2002) investigated in detail the supply of people with science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills including researchers. The Government are implementing the recommendations of this review, which includes: funding transferable skills training for Research Council-supported PhD students and postdoctoral researchers; increasing the minimum PhD stipend to £12,000 by 2005-06; raising the average for postdoctoral salaries by £4,000 between 2002 and 2005; and the development of the academic fellowship scheme, which guarantees permanent employment on successful completion. The recently formed Research Careers Committee, chaired by Sir Gareth Roberts will monitor trends, share and promote good practice and review the Concordat for research staff, originally signed in 1996.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 195635; 426 c2157W;426 c2163W
Session: 2003-04
Subjects: Career development Employment Higher education Science Employment by sector Scientists
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk