Universities minister opens up about difficulties of role

The speed at which the UK has gone through science and universities ministers and the fact they straddle multiple departments is problematic, the current holder of the post has admitted.

Currently, higher education up until Masters level is managed by the Department for Education but research at universities is a matter for the business department.

Chris Skidmore, whose job as science and universities minister sits in both departments, said this separation means that the development of early career researchers does not fit into any one department and creates “policy blackspots”.