States party to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) met in Geneva, 5 to 9 December. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss and promote common understanding and effective action on the content, adoption and promulgation of codes of conduct for scientists. The states party to the BTWC...

States party to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) met in Geneva, 5 to 9 December. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss and promote common understanding and effective action on the content, adoption and promulgation of codes of conduct for scientists. The states party to the BTWC...

States Party to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) met in Geneva, 5–9 December. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss and promote common understanding and effective action on the content, adoption and promulgation of codes of conduct for scientists. The States Party to the BTWC agreed by...

States Party to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) met in Geneva, 5–9 December. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss and promote common understanding and effective action on the content, adoption and promulgation of codes of conduct for scientists. The States Party to the BTWC agreed by...

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken to encourage more pupils to study (a) physics, (b) chemistry and (c) mathematics at A level.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken to encourage more pupils to study (a) physics, (b) chemistry and (c) mathematics at A level.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers have attended (a) the regional science learning centres and (b) the National Science Learning Centre since they opened.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers have attended (a) the regional science learning centres and (b) the National Science Learning Centre since they opened.

The hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) raised a conundrum. The difficulty is that if one goes for an open access system, the likelihood is that papers in this great new future are unlikely to have been peer reviewed. As the former Chairman, can the hon. Gentleman...

The hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) raised a conundrum. The difficulty is that if one goes for an open access system, the likelihood is that papers in this great new future are unlikely to have been peer reviewed. As the former Chairman, can the hon. Gentleman...

: The hon. Gentleman has made an important point. It is a strange world that we live in, in which what is accessible to the public is that which is not peer reviewed and where, often, the research that is peer reviewed and carefully examined before being published is not...

: The hon. Gentleman has made an important point. It is a strange world that we live in, in which what is accessible to the public is that which is not peer reviewed and where, often, the research that is peer reviewed and carefully examined before being published is not...

: I shall come to that point later.

: I shall come to that point later.

: Perhaps the Minister, who is shaking his head, will come up with some superb ideas before the end of the afternoon. I am sure that that will make my hon. Friend very pleased. Not surprisingly, there is some opposition. The moves by Wellcome, RCUK and others continue to be...

: Perhaps the Minister, who is shaking his head, will come up with some superb ideas before the end of the afternoon. I am sure that that will make my hon. Friend very pleased. Not surprisingly, there is some opposition. The moves by Wellcome, RCUK and others continue to be...

It is a pleasure to be speaking under your chairmanship, Mrs. Dean; I hope that you will keep me in order if I move off the subject. It was a delight to chair the inquiry, among hundreds of others, and I congratulate the members of the Committee on all the...

It is a pleasure to be speaking under your chairmanship, Mrs. Dean; I hope that you will keep me in order if I move off the subject. It was a delight to chair the inquiry, among hundreds of others, and I congratulate the members of the Committee on all the...

: I absolutely agree. Peer review is acknowledged to be the best way for people to find out whether something has been reviewed. Many papers get turned down. Prestigious journals turn down between 70 per cent. and 80 per cent. of papers, so it is important to handle that issue.

: I absolutely agree. Peer review is acknowledged to be the best way for people to find out whether something has been reviewed. Many papers get turned down. Prestigious journals turn down between 70 per cent. and 80 per cent. of papers, so it is important to handle that issue.

: On that very point, is it not important that if scientific information, or any other information, is given on the internet, we need to develop a system such as the kite mark, which is what the Committee recommended, to show whether the paper has been peer reviewed?

: On that very point, is it not important that if scientific information, or any other information, is given on the internet, we need to develop a system such as the kite mark, which is what the Committee recommended, to show whether the paper has been peer reviewed?

: I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind comments. I echo everything that he said. I hope that my remarks will indicate that, although I came to the topic fairly new, I understand its seriousness and why it interests so many people in the scientific and publishing communities. I...

: I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind comments. I echo everything that he said. I hope that my remarks will indicate that, although I came to the topic fairly new, I understand its seriousness and why it interests so many people in the scientific and publishing communities. I...

: Well, they come for free; unlike in Oxford, where nothing is free. The report, which was published in July 2004, received praise and criticism in almost equal measure for things that it did and did not say. Let me try to dispel a few myths by outlining what were,...

: Well, they come for free; unlike in Oxford, where nothing is free. The report, which was published in July 2004, received praise and criticism in almost equal measure for things that it did and did not say. Let me try to dispel a few myths by outlining what were,...

Hired?

Hired?

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the Government's response was highly coloured by the previous Office of Fair Trading report and that they probably adopted their wait-and-see attitude because the European Commission has also undertaken an investigation into the matter?

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the Government's response was highly coloured by the previous Office of Fair Trading report and that they probably adopted their wait-and-see attitude because the European Commission has also undertaken an investigation into the matter?

: I am grateful for that remark. It is quite clear that the Department of Trade and Industry was somehow leant on for it to have produced such an ambivalent response to the Committee's report. I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman is right about the European connection, but...

: I am grateful for that remark. It is quite clear that the Department of Trade and Industry was somehow leant on for it to have produced such an ambivalent response to the Committee's report. I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman is right about the European connection, but...

: While the hon. Gentleman is talking about the Government's response to the inquiry, would he care to comment on what the Government did not say in their response? They did not, for example, offer to remove VAT on the provision of electronic versions of printed works, or offer any...

: While the hon. Gentleman is talking about the Government's response to the inquiry, would he care to comment on what the Government did not say in their response? They did not, for example, offer to remove VAT on the provision of electronic versions of printed works, or offer any...

: Having got into the whole subject late, and having read the evidence that has been made available, I am more and more confused about why the Government responded as they did. They failed to address the report's core recommendations, but they also failed to seize the opportunity to consider...

: Having got into the whole subject late, and having read the evidence that has been made available, I am more and more confused about why the Government responded as they did. They failed to address the report's core recommendations, but they also failed to seize the opportunity to consider...

Does my hon. Friend accept that in those circumstances, provided that there was a shift to author pays and the funding for it was substantial, one might expect savings in library budgets? Many higher education institutions are Government-funded, and it should not be beyond the wit of Government to track...

Does my hon. Friend accept that in those circumstances, provided that there was a shift to author pays and the funding for it was substantial, one might expect savings in library budgets? Many higher education institutions are Government-funded, and it should not be beyond the wit of Government to track...

: One of the confusing things about the Government's two responses to the original report and the Committee's response to the Government's response to the original report is that they have not grasped those issues. They need to consider what research is needed in order to verify a cost base...

: One of the confusing things about the Government's two responses to the original report and the Committee's response to the Government's response to the original report is that they have not grasped those issues. They need to consider what research is needed in order to verify a cost base...