Department report 'impenetrable'

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The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created by Prime Minister Gordon Brown 18 months ago to "make Britain one of the best places in the world" in these areas.

But a new select committee report found it was "still too early" to say if the department would achieve Mr Brown's ambitious objectives. It said that DIUS' annual report for 2008, was "impenetrable", and raised concerns that jargon might have been used as a substitute for having a clear idea about how the department is going to achieve its goals.

The cross-party group of MPs concluded the report was filled with "jargon-riddled phrases, assumptions backed-up with no clear evidence but which appeared to be designed to provide a positive tone to the report, and euphemisms deflecting likely failure."

The committee added it was "disappointed" that DIUS was not using more innovative methods in its own work. It said the examples cited by the department, including "hot-desking" and remote working were "far from new" for many people.

It also raised concerns that the Government's new chief scientific adviser, Professor John Beddington, "appears to see his role as defending Government policy", rather than "championing evidence based science".

Committee chairman Phil Willis said: "We were less than satisfied with the DIUS report, which we found unhelpful and too reliant on promoting a positive tone rather than providing us with clear and comprehensive information.

"While we appreciate that it will take some time for DIUS's work to be realised, this must not be used as an excuse to produce a sub-standard report.

"A more concise report written in plain English with independently verified statistics would be of far greater use next year."

A DIUS spokesman said that in the past 18 months the department has "massively expanded" the number of apprenticeships available. The number of students entering higher education has increased, he said, and there has been continued record investment in funding for science and research.