In January, the UK government announced three initiatives to promote UK biotechnology over the next four years. The action, which the government expects to have fully in place by May 1999, aims to address the main complaints of the UK biotechnology sector—namely the expense of R&D plus the poor image of the sector—as voiced by the BioIndustry Association (BIA; London). The government's plan comprises a public perception survey, a system of tax breaks, and a publicity campaign to foster industrial biotechnology. UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Stephen Byers reinforced the government's standpoint on biotechnology in a speech in January to members of BIA. "Our first task is to...restore public confidence, openness, and transparency," says Byers.
To assess public perception of biotechnology, the Office of Science and Technology (OST; London), a division of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI; London), will survey 1,000 members of the general public to assess knowledge and opinion of several areas of biotechnology. The program, which will be headed by UK Science Minister David Sainsbury with only £128,000 (US$180,000) of government funding, will appraise public awareness of technological advances, ethical issues arising from biotechnology, regulatory processes, and the availablity of biotechnology information to the public.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution