Results 1-20 of 51 for speaker:Lord Broers

Higher Education — Statement (3 Nov 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, would the Minister say a little more about the concentration of research, particularly in the science, engineering and technology fields? I agree entirely with the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp, about collaboration, which can take place in these subjects as well. However, in certain subjects it is difficult to supply the equipment necessary to more than one institution. This does not...

Airports: Heathrow — Question (19 Oct 2009)

Lord Broers: Does the Minister agree that it is a pity that the very successful Silent Aircraft project that resulted from the Cambridge University-MIT collaboration several years ago is not being followed up in this country, whereas it has become a fairly major project for NASA?

European Space Programme — Question (21 Jul 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, most of the funding for our space research comes from the science budget within the research councils. Most countries do not do that. Most countries establish a space agency which seems to me appropriate as much of the fallout and application of space research is in the military and commercial sector. Does the Minister think that that would be a better route for us to take as well?...

Education: Teacher Training Courses — Question (21 Jul 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Winston, mentioned the report of the Science and Technology Committee. I declare my interest, having chaired that inquiry into science teaching in schools. One difficulty that we identified was the fact that there is no satisfactory career path for the technicians who are vital in schools for maintaining and setting up laboratories for practical work. Have the...

Unemployment — Question (14 Jul 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, if the Minister cannot predict when unemployment will drop, perhaps he can tell us when the large stimulus programmes, particularly those for energy, will come to fruition and thereby help the employment situation.

Internet: Over-60s — Question (25 Jun 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords—

Economy — Debate (7 May 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, on gaining this timely debate and on his excellent speech. As an engineer, I enjoyed the emphasis that he placed on numbers. I intend to spend my time discussing the relationship between stimulus funding and low-carbon obligations. There is an inconvenient truth—not Al Gore's—that most of the methods available to us to reduce...

G20 — Statement (20 Apr 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, could the Minister answer the specific questions asked by the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, about the scale of the UK's contributions to the increases in the funds agreed by the G20?

Energy: Power Stations — Question (2 Apr 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, can the Minister reassure us that in choosing the location of nuclear power stations, the Government will take into account the fact that 40 per cent of the power generated by a nuclear power plant is in the form of heat? We do not want these power stations in remote locations, where that heat will be wasted. The French get this right; the Swedes do not.

Vehicles: Tax and Duty — Question (23 Mar 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, I am sure the Minister is aware that the lowest-emitting carbon-fuel-consuming cars are of course those with diesel engines. Their emissions are even lower than those with hybrid systems. Are the government schemes for the taxation and pricing of diesel fuels appropriate?

Economy: Skills Development — Debate (5 Mar 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, I, too, congratulate and thank the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross, on introducing this debate. I also congratulate her on her excellent and comprehensive opening speech and work in this area. This subject has become especially important now that the huge sums of money that we earned in recent years in the financial sector are likely to be much reduced, and more of our workforce...

Energy: Self-sufficiency — Question (25 Feb 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, I am sure that the Minister realises that to gain independence we need to build some nuclear power plants. Does he think that we could possibly shorten the 10 years that the Government predict it will take us to build our first power station?

Energy: Renewables (Economic Affairs Committee Report): Motion to Take Note (24 Feb 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, I add my compliments to the noble Lord, Lord Vallance, and the members and the staff of the Economic Affairs Committee on their report. Like the committee I will not try to tackle the question of the validity of global warming. But I would say, quite apart from that, that I feel that there are very serious matters—economic and environmental—that justify the investigation...

Identity Security: Visas — Question (12 Feb 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, how is the Irish recognition system working? What percentage of people sign up for that? How satisfied are they with it?

Climate Change — Debate (29 Jan 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Browne, on introducing this debate. It is topical and urgent and there is no one better qualified than the noble Lord to introduce it. I wish to make a general point about the way in which the Government tackle complex engineering and technological issues because it relates to the likelihood of our success in dealing with climate change. It...

Automotive Industry — Statement (27 Jan 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, I welcome a lot of what the Secretary of State has said, especially a reduction in financial engineering and an increase in real engineering. However, will he reassure us that we will really get there and will really get some creative engineering and some unique capabilities that might better anchor these facilities in this country?

Energy: Nuclear Fusion — Question (26 Jan 2009)

Lord Broers: My Lords, can the Minister reassure the House that he realises the priority that is given to this project internationally? Last year I was a member of a committee put together by the US National Academy of Engineering and charged with looking at the grand challenges for engineering in the coming century. We identified 50 initially but boiled them down to 14. The projects related to energy,...

Queen's Speech — Debate (3rd Day) (8 Dec 2008)

Lord Broers: My Lords, I compliment the noble Lords, Lord Rooker and Lord Bhattacharyya, on their advocacy of the importance of engineering and technology to our economy. I strongly endorse what they said. Our economy will not recover without engineering and technology. It is extraordinarily difficult to find a silver lining in the economic storm clouds that cover the sky today, but I think that I have...

Energy: Wind Farms (17 Nov 2008)

Lord Broers: My Lords, Shell and BP are engineering companies. The fact that they have pulled out may mean that they know something, maybe that offshore wind is the most expensive and impractical of all the large-scale renewable energy possibilities. The new commitment we have made of 25 gigawatts by 2020 means, in effect, installing 10 huge generators every day. There are only 60 days in the North Sea...

Science: Funding (21 Oct 2008)

Lord Broers: My Lords—