Code of practice for scientific advisory committees / Office of Science and Technology.

  • Great Britain. Office of Science and Technology.
Date:
2001
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Code of practice for scientific advisory committees / Office of Science and Technology. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Introduction if This Code is intended for the use of scientific advisory committees, their chairs, members and secretariats. PR The role of government departments in the process of obtaining and using scientific advice is addressed through Guidelines 2000: Scientific Advice and Policy Making and other relevant guidance addressed to departments. A list of relevant sources and website addresses is attached at Annex C. The basic principles which government departments should follow in assembling and using scientific advice, as set out in Guidelines 2000, are that departments should: oS) - think ahead, identifying the issues where scientific advice is needed at an early stage; ~ get a wide range of advice from the best sources, particularly where there is scientific uncertainty; and . publish the scientific advice they receive and all the relevant papers. 4. These principles are intended to be of general application to the procurement of scientific advice, irrespective of whether it is sought from in-house experts or from external individuals or bodies. Guidelines 2000 therefore applies when scientific advisory committees are used to obtain or offer views. . The purpose of this Code of Practice is to provide more detailed guidance specifically focused on the operation of scientific advisory committees and their relationship with government, and to help translate the Guidelines into day-to-day practice. The context in which scientific advisory committees work 6. The function of a scientific advisory committee is to help Government collect scientific information and make judgements about it. Such committees give advice on a very wide range of issues, spanning everything from the food we eat and grow to the quality of our environment, the safety of our roads and transport, and the buildings we live and work in. They review, and sometimes commission, scientific research, and they offer independent expert judgement, including where facts are missing or uncertainties exist. Scientific advisory committees may be required to provide either scientific advice, advice on scientific issues, or indeed both. Increasingly they have to frame their advice to take account of social and ethical issues and public and stakeholder concerns. ff The committees to which the Code applies would exclude research grant or other resource-awarding committees.