UK academics move to protect science and technology committee
A letter asking the UK Government not to abolish the Parliament science and technology select committee has been signed by numerous renowned UK academics. The recent changes to the organisation of government departments involved moving the work of the Office of Science and Innovation into the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills. The Department will be evaluated by a departmental select committee, and the signatories are worried that this could lead to the discontinuation of the science and technology select committee. 'This committee does a great deal of vital work scrutinising scientific matters and the use of evidence across government departments and agencies,' states the letter. It cites recent inquires into hybrid/chimera embryos, nanotechnology, the future of health research, the impact of EU legislation on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), open access publishing, carbon capture and space. 'Just as peer review is important in science, so is adequate oversight of the use of science in policy-making,' the letter continues. Among the signatories are four British Nobel Prize winners. 'This letter is signed by the Presidents of both the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering, and by several Nobel prize-winners. You can't argue with them. The Commons has to retain proper scrutiny of science,' said Peter Cotgreave, Director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering in the UK (CaSE).
Countries
United Kingdom