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Systematics and Taxonomy (S&TC Reports)

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Sutherland, for securing this debate and for leading the committee in producing this report. I am grateful to him and to his colleagues for their recommendations. The report has not only focused the Government’s attention on this vital scientific discipline—an underpinning infrastructure, as the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, described it—but given me a chance to hear further the committee’s insights into, and views on, systematics and taxonomy. I recognise, as my noble friend Lord Haskel said, that there is no stone which can resist the constant drip-drip-drip of its constructive advice. I am certainly listening to the committee’s concerns and I shall take action. It is the Government’s aim to ensure that this country maintains its position as a leading science nation. Systematics and taxonomy are important to the research base, and we are committed to protecting and strengthening them. They are, as the noble Lords, Lord Soulsby and Lord Krebs, said, essential underpinnings to work on biodiversity, understanding ecosystem services and climate change. I was struck by the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Sutherland, about the value of sheer intellectual curiosity. In our efforts to develop a wider understanding of science in our community and a scientifically literate society, the communication of the power within science—of the power of curiosity about things, asking why they are as they are and going further to try to understand them—is vital. This science has important economic aspects, too, of which I give just one example. UK taxonomists helped to identify the mealy bug attacking cassava in Africa and its natural enemy in South America. Their discovery led to savings of up to $20 billion. The impact of this area on public attitudes to science is also vital. I have in mind the great public interest in the national collections. I agree wholeheartedly with the noble Lord, Lord De Mauley, about the importance of field trips in science education, which we are actively encouraging within the Government. I share his concern about the development of the compensation culture in our society, which make such trips more difficult to organise than they would otherwise be. We accept that the Government have an important role in encouraging volunteering in this area, and we are pursuing it. I am happy to answer the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, about DCMS funding of regional museums. DCMS allocates £45 million to regional museums through the Renaissance in the Regions programme. That funding is committed for the remainder of the current spending period. The DCMS is also committed to funding the strategic commissioning education programme for this period, which I hope gives the reassurance that the noble Lord sought. I listened carefully to the concerns of the noble Lord, Lord May, about the cognitive dissonance between the stated priorities of DfID. I shall look at the matter again and discuss it with my colleagues from that department. I also accept the concerns expressed by a number of noble Lords relating to the failure to consult fully, particularly on the collection in Scotland. Scotland has an excellent research record in taxonomy and the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh has a high international standing. We were originally confident in the preparation of our response to the committee’s report that the state of the discipline in Scotland was covered, but we have taken the point on board. We have accepted 20 of the 25 recommendations produced by the committee. We agree that within these recommendations the internet will play an important role in the evolution of taxonomy. I have noted in the debate today the concern about whether or not we have missed an important point on the full potential of web-based resources, in particular in relation to taxonomy tools. I will take this back to the department and look into it further. Most importantly, we note the concerns that have been expressed by the committee around the lines of communication between the taxonomy community and the research councils. The committee has helpfully highlighted the concern in this area and I shall explore it further. I am also grateful that the committee has given credit where it is due and has noted the progress that we have made. I am grateful to the noble Earl, Lord Selborne, for highlighting the cross-research council programme of living with environmental change. This is an example of the excellent work which the research councils are doing in working across disciplines. The noble Lord, Lord De Mauley, made a point about international collaboration. That programme has been looked at very closely by the American Administration as a model for the way in which this area should be addressed. The committee voiced serious concerns about the health and sustainability of the discipline, and this is of concern to the Government. That is why the forthcoming review being carried out by NERC is extremely important. It will give us the data that we need for a stronger evidence base upon which to make future decisions. It will be led by an expert committee and the review will seek a better understanding of the responsibilities among the various UK institutions which cover taxonomy. The committee will examine which aspects of NERC’s four-year strategy will require new taxonomic knowledge and skills and will make recommendations on how these needs will be met. It will also look at the key issues in taxonomic research which could attract research council funding and which could make a fundamental contribution to both UK science and our society. It will be a thorough review. I hope that reassures the Committee about the Government’s commitment to sustaining systematic biology and taxonomy in this country. The review will include the recommendation of mechanisms for collaborative operations across departments and disciplines. Following completion of the review, we will look again at whether there is a compelling case for there to be a lead department for this discipline. The noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, asked how this would be delivered. I would point to the recent innovation of the creation of the new Science and Innovation Sub-Committee. My role as Science Minister and a seat in the Cabinet provide an opportunity for cross-departmental issues to be addressed and for decisions to be taken. That is the mechanism by which it will be done. At this point, I am unsure as to whether locating responsibility in a single department such as DIUS would be an appropriate solution. However, I am prepared to look at the matter again, based on the data which come out of the NERC review. It is important to recognise, as Members of the Committee do, that DIUS does not have overall responsibility for particular areas of science. Funding specific activities in the research base through the science and research budget is the responsibility of the department. However, it is important to stress our belief in the crucial centrality of the Haldane principle—that decisions relating to funding are made by the scientific community—and the importance of the independence of the research council. I noted that the committee regards the concerns around this underpinning infrastructure of the science of taxonomy to be of fundamental strategic importance. I accept that DIUS has a clear role in providing strategic guidance, and therefore I can see the argument that, where there are problems, this may be one of those areas where, in DIUS’s role as championing UK science and in my role as Science Minister, it is DIUS’s responsibility to take action. In conclusion, I remind noble Lords that in the great majority of recommendations the Government and the committee are in agreement. We have accepted them in large part and are busy implanting them. We both want to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of this discipline internationally, and I am grateful for the committee’s assessment that, as the noble Lord, Lord Sutherland, described it, significant progress has been made. However, I take the point that over the 17-year period in which a number of reviews have taken place in this discipline, there are areas where, as the noble Lord said, we could do better. Further work is now needed to establish the structures that will support that ambition, based on data which will be generated from the review. I am clear that, with continued prompting from this committee, we can expect further developments from the Government in this area. I shall read Hansard to see whether there are any questions that noble Lords have raised this afternoon that I have not answered. In particular, I think that it would be useful for me to give a full description of the international collaborations that the noble Lord, Lord De Mauley, asked for, both transatlantically and within Europe, and I shall ensure that that is done by the department.