Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure
that the United Kingdom remains a world leader in the
mathematical sciences.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy () (Con)
My Lords, the EPSRC has committed £281 million to research grants
for mathematical sciences between April 2015 and September 2021.
To further support our world-leading mathematicians, UKRI has
awarded around £104 million in additional funding over and above
EPSRC’s core mathematical sciences theme budget, in line with the
Government’s announcement in January 2020. Research England
notionally allocated £55.2 million of mainstream quality-related
research funding for mathematical sciences to higher education
providers in England for the academic year 2021.
(Lab)
I thank the Minister for his reply and his acknowledgement of our
world-leading mathematicians, but would he agree that, to be a
world-leader in mathematical sciences, we also have to make
greater efforts to encourage girls and young women to become
mathematicians and do more to take advantage of all the talent
that is available? Will the Minister indicate what steps the
Government are taking to this end?
(Con)
I completely agree with the noble Lord, who I know has long
advocated the importance of mathematics study. I point him
towards the advanced mathematics support programme, which has a
specific focus to get more students participating in A-level core
maths. It works with schools and colleges to raise awareness of
progression to mathematics at university. As I am sure the noble
Lord is aware, there is also the national network of maths hubs
to help local schools improve the quality of their mathematics
teaching. The most recent Programme for International Student
Assessment results show that England outperformed on the OECD
averages for reading, maths and science.
(CB)
My Lords, pure maths is becoming ever more significant in the
world of digital research. Will the Government now make
mathematical science a distinct research field, no longer
subordinated within engineering and the physical sciences, where
it still lingers under the outdated Science and Technology Act
1965? Surely, it is time to move on.
(Con)
I confess that I am not familiar with that legislation but I
thank the noble and gallant Lord for his update. We have an
excellent record on mathematics tuition and one of the best
records in the world on advanced research papers, as shown by the
number that have originated in the UK. It is an important area
and we are doing well, but I am sure that we could always do
better.
(LD)
My Lords, leading on from the Question asked by the noble Lord,
Lord Davies, the leading figures in four mathematical societies
are all women: the president of the London Mathematical Society,
the vice-president of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society, the
chair of the Centre for Mathematical Sciences and the
president—and three of the four vice-presidents —of the Royal
Statistical Society. As the noble Lord says, however, this is not
reflected in the number of female applicants across A-level and
degree level. Maths should be fun. What are the Government doing
to make it fun for women and girls—and, indeed, for boys and men
too?
(Con)
I think boys like fun as much as girls do—sometimes even
together. I am delighted to hear about all the excellent leading
women who are in top-level positions. We, as the males in this
world, will clearly have to do better to compete with their
excellent record.
(Lab)
My Lords, the demise of mathematics in British universities is a
direct consequence, albeit inadvertent, of the Government’s
policies. The Government have allowed universities to compete for
students without limit in pursuit of enhanced student
appreciation, which can affect student recruitment. In order to
accommodate students of lesser academic ability, the universities
have relieved many of their courses of the burden of mathematics.
This is damaging our prospects as a technological nation. Have
the Government envisaged any means of limiting this harm?
(Con)
I am afraid that I just do not recognise the picture the noble
Lord is painting. The UK is a world leader in mathematical
science and British mathematicians publish a large volume of
highly regarded work. We have the fifth largest share of
publications in the world. When looking at the top 1% of the most
cited publications, UK mathematicians are responsible for the
third largest share. I am sure we could always do more and
better, but we have an excellent record.
(CB)
My Lords, long ago I studied maths and further maths at A-level,
and it was fun. Now, sadly, I struggle even to master my
grandchildren’s GCSE papers, but I recall enough of my time in
mathematics to understand the supreme value of pure maths.
Without Newton we could not have landed on the moon. Without
Turing we would not have smart- phones. Is the Minister aware of
the disquiet in the maths community not only at the overall
funding for mathematical sciences but at the insufficient
investment in fundamental theoretical mathematics research? Will
the Minister agree to consider if that really is the case?
(Con)
Like the noble Lord, I did mathematics at A-level, but an almost
equally long time ago and I have forgotten most of it now. He
makes a very good point. We have an excellent record of
investment in mathematics but I will take his remarks back to the
department and see if we can do better.
(Con)
My Lords, if we are really serious about raising mathematical
standards in the UK, has the time not come for the Government to
give greater backing to the national mathematical Olympiad for
pre-university students, the winners of which would go on to the
International Mathematical Olympiad but also receive money for
their studies?
(Con)
I thank my noble friend for her question. That sounds like an
excellent event and I am sure we will want to do all we can to
support it.
of Darlington (Lab)
My Lords, the UK’s position as a leader in maths would be more
certain if we addressed inequalities in education at a young age.
The Government should start by launching an urgent inquiry into
the way A-level results were awarded last year, when we saw stark
differences in the way that schools awarded top grades. As an
example, one private girls’ school in north London nearly trebled
its rate of A* grades awarded, so that more than 90% of its
entries were assessed as A*. Pressure on teachers from senior
leaders—not at all schools, but at some—to game the system is
deeply troubling and unfair. This must surely be investigated in
order to restore confidence in the system.
(Con)
This is obviously an important subject but we are getting
slightly off the original topic, which was maths research council
funding. However, I would be happy to look at that issue in more
detail and come back to the noble Baroness.
(LD)
My Lords, I second exactly what the noble Lord, , said about the importance of
fundamental maths to a range of scientific disciplines. Risk
analysis, neuroscience, biology—all now require an understanding
of fundamental principles. I declare an interest, as my son
teaches maths to biologists in the University of Edinburgh. We
are, however, in severe danger of losing top-quality
mathematicians because if they move to a merchant bank, their pay
is so much higher than universities are now ready to offer. Will
the Government look at how they maintain top-quality
mathematicians in our university system to teach the fundamental
maths that we need?
(Con)
Again, the noble Lord raises an important subject. We clearly
want to make sure that some of the top mathematicians stay in our
universities to educate the next generation of young people. I
will certainly take his remarks back to the Department for
Education.
(Con)
My Lords, the noble Baroness, , says that maths
should be fun for women. Can it actually be fun for anybody, even
if it is very necessary for everyone?
(Con)
I am sure that maths can be fun for everybody. I am disappointed
that my noble friend does not think so.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister has rightly defended a reasonably good
record of government funding of mathematics. I applaud that, but
he is he convinced that sufficient attention is being given to
biology, chemistry, physics and other scientific subjects, many
of which now depend fundamentally on mathematics being inherent
in their teaching?
(Con)
I will need to refer to the Department for Education for the
details of how it supports these other vital subjects in its
teaching programmes, but I agree with the thrust of the noble
Lord’s question.
