Earlier this week in the House of Lords, Lord Davies of Brixton tabled an oral question directly concerning the future of mathematics in the UK: “To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that the UK remains a world leader in the mathematical sciences.”
The question provided an opportunity for the Minister, Lord Callanan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)) to respond, as well as for any interested peers to add further questions or make comments. The topic received a huge amount of interest, so much so that not all peers who wished to speak could do so in the allocated nine minutes. The peers who did speak made considered and powerful statements on both the importance of mathematics to research and future developments, and the enjoyment of mathematics and widening accessibility.
Lord Callanan responded to Lord Davies by reiterating the funding already allocated by EPSRC and UKRI, as well funding notionally allocated by Research England. He stated: "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". This is an excellent opportunity for further engagement with BEIS to build on the work already achieved by the Protect Pure Maths campaign to draw attention to mathematics. You can watch the Minister's full response here.
The Society was very pleased to see mathematics debated in the House of Lords with such enthusiasm, especially because it is rare for so many peers to speak during an oral question. This supports and advances the Society’s aim of promoting the benefits of mathematics and mathematical education to (amongst others) policy makers and funders of research. You can watch the whole debate clip here from 14:37.