Committees

Science and Technology Committee launches three new inquiries

9 April 2020

The House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee is to launch three inquiries. 

The new inquiries are:

  • A new UK funding agency  
    The Committee will launch an inquiry on the nature and purpose of the newly proposed UK funding agency, which is modelled on the US Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), and how it will fit into the existing research and innovation ecosystem. 
  • UK telecommunications infrastructure and the UK's domestic capability  
    Following the Government's announcement that it will allow Huawei and other “high risk vendors” to supply “non-sensitive” elements of the UK's 5G telecommunications networks, despite security concerns, the Committee will launch an inquiry to understand how telecommunications capacity can be built in the UK.  
  • Commercial genomics  
    In the context of new regulations due to apply to health-related genomic tests from 2022, the Committee will establish the health benefits of such tests, consider the ethical aspect of these and related genomic tests, and assess the extent to which the forthcoming regulations address any potential issues. This inquiry builds upon the work of the previous Committee. 
  • Evidence submitted to this inquiry in the previous Parliament will still be considered.  

The deadline for submissions to these inquiries is Sunday 31 May 2020.

Further, the Committee is still accepting written evidence to its current inquiry into UK Science, Research and Technology Capability and Influence in Global Disease Outbreaks. Initial evidence can be submitted to this inquiry until Friday 31 July 2020, but written evidence will continue to be accepted for some time after the initial deadline. 

Further information

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