Government ‘not on course’ to turn UK into ‘science superpower’ by 2030, peers say

Baroness Brown of Cambridge says the government’s ‘science policy has been far from perfect’

A visitor takes a photograph of a large image of the Large Hadron Collider at the London Science Museum (Getty)

Ministers are set to fall short in their promise to turn the UK into a “science and tech superpower” by 2030, according to a cross-party group of peers, who described the government’s science policy as “inconsistent and unclear”.

The House of Lords’ science and technology committee said the commitment was at risk of becoming “an empty slogan” without a “laser focus on implementation”.

The peers also expressed concern over the government’s failure to appoint a new science minister after George Freeman resigned and vacated the position on 7 July. A replacement is not expected to be appointed until the Conservative Party elects a new prime minister.