Universities department ‘still hasn’t found its feet’
By Blaine Williams
The government’s department for innovation, universities and skills (DIUS) has been lambasted in a report claiming that it has “not yet found its feet”.
The committee that looked into the performance of DIUS said the annual report was “peppered with jargon” and “impenetrable” in an attempt to disguise the fact the department has no direction.
Committee chairman Phil Willis said: “We were less than satisfied with the DIUS report, which we found unhelpful and too reliant on promoting a positive tone rather than providing us with clear and comprehensive information.
“While we appreciate that it will take some time for DIUS’s work to be realised, this must not be used as an excuse to produce a sub-standard report.”
The committee also raised concerns about the government’s chief scientific advisor, professor Beddington, because he failed to highlight the importance of scientific process and the need for balanced investigation.
It is felt that he has become more of a politician than an advocate for scientific investigation.
“It is understandable that the new government chief scientific adviser has a desire to work within the Whitehall machine, but this must not be done at the expense of championing evidence-based science or challenging government policy,” Mr Willis added.
DIUS must also account for how it plans to spend the £1.5 billion it will generate from efficiency savings and David Willets, shadow innovation, universities and skills secretary, also highlighted DIUS’ poor grasp of innovation.
Mr Willets said: “The department has failed to say how it will find £1.5 billion of efficiency savings and is not sufficiently innovative.
“Even though the department is in charge of innovation, it has had ‘one of the poorest websites in Whitehall that lacked even a basic search facility’.”
The committee also condemned the way the department presents its figures and has called for future data to be independently verified.
DIUS was created 18 months ago to encourage economic development and make Britain a front runner in science, innovation and research.
