Part of the debate – in the House of Lords am 3:01 pm ar 5 Mehefin 2018.
Lord Stevenson of Balmacara
Opposition Whip (Lords)
3:01,
5 Mehefin 2018
In the Minister’s first response that the UK would continue to receive substantial funding from Her Majesty’s Treasury for research, he gave a gross figure—I think that it was £7 billion by 2022—and then a figure of 4% of GDP by 2027. I would be grateful if he could clarify what exactly that was. The real question was whether the gap that was going to happen would be matched by the Government. What level of science and research spending is guaranteed to the science community in the UK, and for how long?
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
