Privatisation of research establishments is slated

The Government's privatisation probe of more than 40 public sector research establishments has been slammed as "profoundly unsatisfactory" by MPs.

A report published this week by the Commons science and technology committee says that any benefits for research council institutes being investigated under the prior options review have almost certainly been overshadowed by the disruption caused in laboratories.

The committee "is not convinced that the current reviews have been driven by concern for science rather than financial considerations". MPs also question the structure of the review, arguing that the Government should have taken greater account of the fundamental reorganisation of the science base and the research councils, in particular following the 1993 science White Paper.

The Government should also have had greater appreciation of the fact research council institutes are already subject to review as a matter of routine. The report criticises the secrecy surrounding the exercise: "We particularly regret that the report of the Steering Groups and review teams were not made available to us. If the documents contained material that should clearly remain confidential for commercial reasons, we would have respected that confidentiality."