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Scientific Publications: Free for all?

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his position as Chairman of this important Committee. Can he put scientific publications in context? Scientific publications will not be top of everyone's agenda this Christmas, but it is an important subject, especially in an increasingly globalised world. There is growing recognition that we all share problems and that we must ensure that the poorer countries in particular have access to the world's scientific database so that they can respond appropriately to problems that must be tackled, such as major natural disasters, avian flu, AIDS and malaria. Scientific publications may not be at the forefront of Radio 4's political agenda at present, but it is a very important issue, and I congratulate the previous Committee Chairman on adopting it as an inquiry.