Mathematical Sciences: Contribution to Society

I am going to call Sir Stephen Timms to move the motion. I will then call the Minister to respond. There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up because that is the convention in a 30-minute debate.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the contribution of the mathematical sciences to society.

I am delighted to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Paisley, and am most grateful to Mr Speaker for selecting this subject for debate to help to mark Maths Week this week. I am pleased to see the distinguished Schools Minister in his place, and I welcome and applaud his appointment—for the third time, if I remember correctly, which surely makes him the longest-serving Schools Minister ever, and deservedly so. I am also pleased that the hon. Member for North Devon (Selaine Saxby), who I think taught maths before being elected, is in her place.

The aims of Maths Week are to raise the profile of mathematics throughout England, change the conversation about maths in the population at large to be more positive, enable children and adults from all backgrounds to access and enjoy mathematical experiences, supplement teachers and support them to plan low-cost and high-impact maths activities at their schools during the week, encourage higher education centres to invite schoolchildren to visit maths events, raise aspiration, encourage greater take-up of maths at A-level and university, and make maths accessible to and enjoyable for people who think it an elitist subject just for “clever” people.

I want to do four things in my speech: underline the value of maths in enabling us to solve the big challenges our society faces and to build our economy; press the Minister to deliver the full commitment on funding for research in the mathematical sciences pledged by the then Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), in January 2020; argue for ensuring that degree-level maths does not become the preserve of the well-off; and press the case for much higher take-up of maths post 16, fulfilling the promise of core maths, which we see in the higher take- up of maths in the most successful economies around the world.

I appreciate the right hon. Gentleman bringing the matter forward and I concur with his comments.

At this time, many of the United Kingdom’s priorities are focused on energy supply and climate change, as well as targets for the future, and the University of Lancaster has concluded that mathematics has proven to be a basic but crucial component of building resilience in terms of flooding and understanding data fluctuations with respect to our energy supplies. With that in mind, does the right hon. Gentleman agree that further funding for mathematics must be centred on helping our students of STEM—science, technology, engineering and maths—including 53% of further education students in Northern Ireland, although I acknowledge the Minister has no responsibility for them, because they are paving the way for success with respect to environmental change in the UK?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that intervention, and I do agree with him: maths is a vital enabler of economic growth, and it underpins many technological advancements that contribute so much to UK economic growth. We need to value that.

Deloitte estimates that the mathematical sciences add more than £200 billion a year to the UK economy, that there is a significant salary premium for advanced maths skills, which is calculated to be £8,000 a year, and that the mathematical sciences are of fundamental importance to tackling all our most pressing policy challenges. The hon. Gentleman has just given a good example of that.

The maths that is most familiar to us is about certainty—a x b = c—but maths also provides the tools to quantify uncertainty, underpinning important decisions in medicine and finance, and on the environment. Furthermore, understanding uncertainty is crucial to making decisions on how to deploy limited resources, from allocating hospital beds to dividing up the bandwidth available for telecommunications.

The briefing for the debate provided by the Protect Pure Maths campaign, which I congratulate on its efforts, gives a couple of examples of the use of a mathematical theory called extreme value theory. Unfortunately, my maths course did not include extreme value theory, which has been used in the successful work of Professor Chris Dent and others on energy generation and storage, which has had a big impact on improving energy supply, as well as in the work referred to by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), carried out at the University of Lancaster, to build resilience against extreme flood events.

Extreme value theory was not invented for those reasons, but as invariably happens with mathematical theories developed initially because they are beautiful and fascinating, that theory has turned out to have immensely important practical applications. Algebraic geometry is an important set of ideas in pure maths, some of which were in my course, and pure mathematician turned economist Elizabeth Baldwin has applied the theory of algebraic geometry to microeconomics to design an effective auction system for carbon permits. Her work has been used by the Bank of England, and more and more maths is being used in the social sciences and humanities.

The right hon. Gentleman is giving an exceptional speech. I am delighted to speak out in Maths Week for the subject that I studied and love. Does he agree that one of the challenges for rural schools particularly is that, because of the restrictions of their rural settings, they are unable to have specialist science, technology, engineering and maths sixth forms? I hope the new ministerial team will apply more maths in general to their funding decisions. In rural schools, the funding simply does not add up, and in large education authorities, such as Devon, we do look not at the variance in achievement but only at the average.

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her well-informed and valid comment. The big problem is the shortage of teachers. In rural schools and elsewhere, getting hold of teachers with specialist maths abilities who are able to teach the subject post 17 is a big challenge. I very much agree with her. The Government should invest more in recruiting, developing and retaining maths teachers, because the lack of teachers is the key problem with the take-up of core maths. We need subject-specific continuing professional development for all maths teachers, and we need to upskill maths teachers who do not have a maths degree.

Maths is hugely valuable in enabling us to solve the big challenges that our society faces, and in building the economy. The Government must deliver the full commitment of funding into research in the mathematical sciences pledged by the then Prime Minister in January 2020. Degree-level mathematics must not become the preserve of the well-off. As the Government repeatedly said some years ago, we also need much higher take-up of maths post 16, as we see in the most successful economies around the world. The Government must fulfil their earlier promises. I very much look forward to the Minister’s response.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Paisley—for the first time, I think. I congratulate the right hon. Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms) on securing this debate, which concerns a subject that I, he and my hon. Friends regard as very important. I thank him for his generous comments about my reappointment. He, too, was a Schools Minister, and I know how deeply he cares about the education of the next generation, particularly children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Mathematical sciences are fundamental to our success as a nation. A deep mathematical and scientific knowledge and understanding is a necessary element of everyday life, but is increasingly required in more and more occupations and higher education courses—not just in the sciences but the social sciences and humanities. The Government are committed to ensuring that all pupils have a solid grounding in maths and science, and to encouraging greater participation as they progress through their school careers so we can grow the numbers of engineers, research scientists and technology experts of the future.

Improving mathematical knowledge at all levels is likely to deliver significant returns in terms of labour market skills, individual success—as the right hon. Member for East Ham said in his speech—increased productivity and longer-term economic benefit. It will allow us to lead the way in scientific innovation. Keeping the UK’s place at the leading edge of science and technology will be essential to our prosperity and competitiveness in the digital age.

The Government recognise that demand for STEM alumni at all levels is growing. That is why we must ensure that everyone, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to pursue STEM careers. Improving the quality of maths and science teaching, and increasing the number of young people who study those subjects beyond GCSE, is key to addressing the STEM shortage, and to supporting the UK economy and its growth. The Department is therefore encouraging more students into STEM subjects across all key stages, from primary and secondary school to higher and further education.

The Government have committed to substantial spending on maths, digital and technical education to increase the take-up and better teaching of STEM subjects in schools and colleges. Instilling a deep understanding and love of mathematics—shared by my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Selaine Saxby) and the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon)—from an early age is vital. That is why the Department introduced teaching for mastery, which is a pedagogy based on high performing jurisdictions, including Shanghai and Singapore, that emphasises whole-class teaching and builds knowledge systematically—step by step and in small increments. That helps students to gain fluency and a deep understanding of mathematical concepts. I saw that at first hand when I visited Shanghai schools a few years ago.

It was the Government’s ambition that the great majority of students in the 16 to 18 range would study maths in some form—mostly core maths. Does that remain the Government’s ambition, and how long does the Minister think it is likely to take to achieve that ambition?

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say that is the Government’s aim. I think we will have more to say on this issue in the coming months, because it is essential in an advanced economy such as Britain that more young people are studying maths—even those like me, who did well at maths O-level but did not go on to study it at sixth form because I was studying history, economics and English. I now wish that I had taken at least some post-16 qualification in maths. More young people would benefit from that, so it continues to be the Government’s objective.

To help tackle the challenges, the advanced maths support programme is rolling out a national team of specialist core maths advisors to support participation in core maths and to develop expertise and best practice. Their role will be to support schools and colleges to establish core maths provision, and to provide continuing professional development and dedicated support. The advanced maths support programme also provides free maths resources for teachers and students. The Department is supporting schools and colleges with additional funding through the advanced maths premium, which is a £600 incentive payment per student and per qualification to boost growth in level 3 qualifications in schools.

In science, the Department funds a range of programmes, including the Stimulating Physics Network, which offers tailored support to schools to increase the rates of progression to physics A-level and the uptake of physics among girls. As of October 2022, 299 continuing professional development days have been delivered. The Isaac Physics programme is designed to increase the number of students, particularly from typically under-represented backgrounds, studying physics in higher education, and it serves about 80% of schools. In 2022, there were a total of 35,800 A-level physics entries—an increase from 27,800 in 2010.

The right hon. Gentleman and I can agree that we need all students to be competent and digitally literate to succeed in the digital age. The computing curriculum introduced in September 2014 provides pupils with the broad knowledge they need to specialise later—for example, in computer programming and AI—from key stage 1 to key stage 4. It also facilitates further study at A-level, and on to degree level and other post-16 options. England was one of the first G20 countries to place coding in the primary curriculum, introducing pupils to writing computer programmes and how computer networks operate. Computer science was one of the fastest growing GCSE subjects between 2013 and 2019, and we are confident that our spending on improving computing education will inspire more pupils to take the subject at GCSE.

The right hon. Gentleman mentioned the funding of mathematical sciences research. Research in mathematical sciences is key for the advancement of all areas of science and technology, and it is a vital area of science in itself. An additional £124 million has been committed to mathematical sciences, on top of between £25 million and £30 million a year for grants, fellowships and studentships, which UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has always invested in this area. Absorbing any additional uplift to mathematical sciences into core budgets would require significant reductions in other engineering and physical sciences disciplines. That would reduce critical capabilities in disciplines such as engineering and information communications technology, which, alongside mathematical sciences, are key foundations of the UK’s ambitions in areas such as net zero and AI.

This commitment of £300 million—£60 million a year over five years—was given in a blaze of publicity by the then Prime Minister in January 2020. Surely the Minister is not telling us that the right hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip said something that was not true.

What I am saying is that this funding is not ringfenced. Rather than ringfenced budgets addressing single priorities, UKRI aims to create a portfolio of investments where each pound contributes to delivering multiple priorities, providing much better value for money and leveraging the benefits of UKRI as an integrated research and innovation funder. In this context, UKRI is looking for opportunities to support foundational mathematical research across its entire portfolio.

The right hon. Gentleman also referred to the issue of teachers in response to an intervention by my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon. The Government are ensuring that all schools have access to highly skilled teachers. Teaching remains an attractive and fulfilling profession and the number of teachers remains high, with more than 465,000 working in state-funded schools across the country—24,000 more than in 2010. The Department has made substantial incentives available to attract the brightest individuals to teach high-demand subjects, including a £27,000 tax-free bursary in chemistry, computing, maths and physics, and prestigious scholarships in those subjects worth £29,000. There is also substantial continuous professional development for new and existing teaching staff through the early career framework and a new suite of national professional qualifications.

In conclusion, I hope that this Chamber will understand how committed the Government are to science and to ensuring that all pupils have the chance to succeed.

I thank the Minister for giving way one final time. I just want to go back to the question of the £300 million. Does he accept that the then Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, absolutely clearly said that the £300 million was for research in mathematical sciences? It was ringfenced in his announcement. Surely that commitment should be honoured?

The right hon. Gentleman has made his point, and I have made the point that UKRI has an un-ringfenced approach in how it allocates its investments. It is important to allow that institution discretion to determine how it allocates its funding. Of course, fundamental foundational research in mathematical sciences goes right across all the disciplines that UKRI oversees.

The Department continues to deliver substantial spending on maths, digital and technical education, and to increase the take-up and better teaching of STEM subjects in schools. We are clear that the acquisition of knowledge is the basic building block of education to which all pupils should have fair access. A knowledge-based curriculum can stimulate critical thinking—a skill that can be acquired only through the teaching of solid subject content. The Government are steadfast in maintaining our position as a world leader in scientific research, and are committed to ensuring a pipeline of knowledge and technical understanding to provide the UK with a highly expert workforce for the future.

Thank you, Minister. My son is a mathematics student, so I found that particularly interesting. For the record, 12 times 12 is 144.

That this House has considered the contribution of the mathematical sciences to society.