Lords Committee questions Ministers David Willetts and John Penrose on science and heritage
13 March 2012
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee will, next Tuesday (13 March 2012), take evidence from David Willetts MP, Minister for Universities and Science at BIS, and John Penrose MP, Minister for Tourism and Heritage at DCMS, as part of their follow-up inquiry into Science and Heritage in the UK. Also giving evidence to the Committee on this day will be Professor Heather Viles of Oxford University.
- Parliament TV: Science and Heritage: Follow-up
- Inquiry: Science and Heritage
- Science and Technology Committee
Witnesses
At 10.40am, Tuesday 13 March, Committee Room 4, Palace of Westminster
- David Willetts MP, Minister for Universities and Science, BIS
- John Penrose MP, Minister for Tourism and Heritage, DCMS.
At 11.35am
- Professor Heather Viles, Professor of Biogeomorphology and Heritage, University of Oxford.
The Ministers will be asked what steps their departments have taken to promote the UK's cultural heritage through support of the heritage science sector. It is estimated that heritage contributes £12.4 billion a year to the UK economy but no actions are proposed in the DCMS 2011-15 business plan, despite identifying the need to "protect our nation's cultural heritage" as a key departmental responsibility.
The Committee will also ask why DCMS has not re-appointed a Chief Scientific Adviser and what responsibility the Government has to monitor and address present and anticipated future skills shortages in the heritage science sector.
Professor Viles will be asked what impact the National Heritage Science Strategy, launched in March 2009, has had and whether the Government is doing enough to support the discipline.