Press Release: Innovation, Universities and Skills Department must do better
Responding to a damning new report from the Innovation, Universities and Skills Select Committee into the work and performance of the department, Shadow Innovation, Universities and Skills Secretary, David Willetts said:
“We cannot emerge from the recession in a competitive state unless we improve our skills base. But this devastating analysis shows Gordon Brown’s Government is failing in this key task.
“DIUS was set up by the Prime Minister to encourage economic development. It is core to dealing with the recession. But the Department has not found its feet, 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.
“It is ironic that the Department in charge of science, research and innovation is failing to provide an evidence-based approach of its own.”
Note to Editors
The Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee will publish its report entitled DIUS’s Departmental Report 2008 at 00.01am on Tuesday, 20th January 2009.
ENDS