Mandelson supports £200m British science funding plans

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Lord Mandelson has come out in support of calls to fund national centres in the UK for scientific innovation.

The suggestion was initially made in a report by Austrian entrepreneur and Cambridge graduate Hermann Hauser, who claimed the British Government should create four or five specialised centres focused on driving scientific innovation in the UK.

Although the plans would cost £200 million over 10 years, Madelson has given his support to the report, telling the Telegraph: "Mr Hauser is right that these centres need long-term, predictable funding and I am committed to making that happen."

The report praised the high class of innovation within the UK but claimed the current form of dispersed centres for development wasted money and needed more focus.

“The UK has a science capability second only to the US but falls short on translating scientific leads into leading positions in new industries,” Hauser said in his report.

“Technology and Innovation Centres can help solve this shortcoming and give Britain the lead in some of the most promising technologies leading to new industries with transformational economic impact.”

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