Science and Technology Facilities Council Order 2007

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord De Mauley, asked about the consultation. More than120 responses were received by the close of the consultation on 16 June. Those in favour of the merger outnumbered those against by a margin of two to one, while the proposal to transfer PPARC’s grant-giving functions to the EPSRC were opposed by a margin of about three to one. Has the whole exercise been about cost savings? No, it has not. We are seeking to strengthen the UK’s long-term position in access to large facilities. Research councils already have high-quality efficiency programmes, set up following the Gershon review, which will be unchanged by a decision to create the STFC. The noble Lord, Lord Redesdale, and my noble friend Lord Hunt of Chesterton, asked about European or other international commitments. The STFC will be a member of a number of major international collaborations—CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, the European Space Agency, the European Southern Observatory, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and the Institut Laue-Langevin. Involvement in all those enterprises will provide the organisation with access to research facilities essential to achieve its mission and will account for a sizeable part of its overall expenditure. The Government have responded to the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures road map by asking Research Councils UK for advice on how the UK should get involved in such priority projects. Will there be a representative of the particle physics, nuclear physics, space and astronomy communities? No decision has been made on that. The department aims to have members from a mix of backgrounds able to command the confidence of the science communities that it serves and to provide strategic direction to the new council. In essence, I can confirm again that this is not a cost-saving measure. The intention is that the council will have an important domestic and international role. On Question, Motion agreed to.