Commons Science and Technology Committee

Parliament Mr Phil Willis MP

Mr Phil Willis MP (Chairman)

Welcome to the Science and Technology Committee's website.

The Committee exists to ensure that Government policy and decision-making are based on good scientific and engineering advice and evidence. 

The Science and Technology Committee is unusual amongst departmental select committees in that it scrutinises the Government Office for Science (GO-Science), which is a “semi-autonomous organisation”  based within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). GO-Science “supports the Government Chief Scientific Adviser and works to ensure that Government policy and decision-making is underpinned by robust scientific evidence”.  The Committee therefore has a similarly broad remit and can examine the activities of departments where they have implications for, or made use of, science, engineering, technology and research.

The Science and Technology Committee was re-established on 1 October 2009. There was previously a Science and Technology Committee which was wound-up in 2007 and replaced by the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee, which scrutinised both the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and science.  Following the reorganisation of Whitehall announced by the Prime Minister in June 2009 DIUS became part of BIS and the House of Commons re-established a Science and Technology Committee focused on science. (There is a new, separate select committee, Business, Innovation and Skills, scrutinising BIS.) The new Science and Technology Committee has the same membership and Chairman as the former Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee.

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Latest News

COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENT: THE DISCLOSURE OF CLIMATE DATA FROM THE CLIMATIC RESEARCH UNIT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA

On 22 January the Science and Technology Committee announced an inquiry into the disclosure of climate data from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.  Commenting on the material which the Committee has received since the announcement the Chairman, Phil Willis MP, said:

The Committee has been receiving a steady stream of contributions to the inquiry, for which it is grateful.  I would like to take this opportunity to emphasise that the focus of the inquiry is the implications of the disclosures for the integrity of scientific research and the terms of reference and scope of the Independent Review announced on 3 December 2009 by UEA.  It is not an inquiry into global warming. In the time remaining before the General Election the Committee would not have time to carry out such an inquiry.

Full details of the Committee’s inquiry announced on 22 January are at http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/science_technology/s_t_cru_inquiry.cfm 

Current Inquiries

Bioengineering (Report in preparation)

The disclosure of climate data from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia (Inquiry announced)

Evidence Check 1: Early Literacy Interventions (Report published 18 Dec 2009)

Evidence Check 2: Homeopathy (Report in preparation)

The Government’s review of the principles applying to the treatment of independent scientific advice provided to government (Oral evidence announced)

The impact of spending cuts on science and scientific research (Oral evidence in progress)

The regulation of geoengineering (Report in preparation)

The work of the UK research councils (Oral evidence concluded)

Recent Inquiries

Setting the scene on science, engineering and technology issues across government (Oral and written evidence published 3 Dec 2009)