The contribution of science and technology to the UK economy on Lords agenda

Viscount Stansgate (Labour), former director of parliamentary affairs for the Society of Biology, put forward the debate.

This is a general debate. During debates, members put their experience to good use to discuss current issues and draw the government's attention to concerns. 

Members speaking

Contributing members included:

• Lord Drayson (Labour), former CEO of healthcare technology company, Sensyne Health 
• Baroness Greenfield (Crossbench), CEO and founder of Neuro-Bio Ltd
• Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat), visiting professor at the Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London
• Lord Tarassenko (Crossbench), former head of engineering science at the University of Oxford
• Lord Willetts (Conservative), chair of the UK Space Agency.

Opening the debate, Viscount Stansgate said:

'It is absolutely vital that we enthuse and inspire the next generation, and it must start in primary schools if not before, opening young hearts and minds to the wonders of science.'

Baroness Neville-Jones added:

'Our universities are the bedrock of our capability; their graduates feed our independent laboratories and learned societies, and their geographical spread helps to keep our educational disparities under control. However, they are not going to survive the financial situation in which they now find themselves.'

Lord Vallance of Balham (Labour), Minister for Science, responded on behalf of the government.

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