Parl & Scientific Comm Annual Report 16.qxp 23/05/2017 17:09 Page 1 Foreword by the President The Lord Oxburgh KBE FRS This was an eventful year. Let me start by paying tribute to two individuals who, in very different ways, shaped the development of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. My predecessor, Patrick Jenkin, Lord Jenkin of Roding, died on 20th December 2016 at the age of 90; he was our President for more than five years. In this role he was always conscientious, reliable and unfailingly polite. He was also warm and supportive to individuals. He always seemed to have a twinkle in his eye and managed to give the impression that he enjoyed whatever he was doing. He was passionate in his belief in the importance of science and technology for both politics and civil society in general. He espoused the benefits of science like few qualified scientists. This was in spite of the fact that he was one of that increasingly rare breed able to declare that he had never received a formal science lesson in his life! Patrick himself never stopped apologizing for this lacuna in his CV, although he clearly did his best to make up for it. For many his lasting memorial is the November 2000 House of Lords Science and Technology report on Science and Society. He chaired the committee that produced the report and wrote much of it himself. This is still regarded as a seminal work of analysis and guidance for interaction between scientists and the lay public. He was also a talented singer and many of us will have enjoyed hearing him in the Parliamentary choir singing Messiah. For many people, Annabel Lloyd, who died in May simply was the P&SC. She cherished it for nearly 25 years, and worked with many Presidents, Chairmen and Executive Secretaries. However it was not just her longevity that was responsible for the respect and affection that was expressed. Her dedication to the organization, her fierce pride in its wellbeing, her total reliability and integrity were all remarkable. She had a 1 Parl & Scientific Comm Annual Report 16.qxp 23/05/2017 17:09 Page 2 formidable memory, and scarcely needed a filing system or a hard drive. The Membership 2016 complete history of the P&SC was in her brain. She bore her final illness with the stoicism we who knew her would have Parliamentary Membership expected. We received several hundred messages of condolence. Any member of either House of Parliament including those hereditary peers in Perhaps the most significant event of the year for Science and Technology was membership of the Committee on 8th November 1999 or British Member of the the outcome of the Referendum in June. The UK has been at the centre of European Parliament shall be eligible to be a member of the Committee. European science since long before the European Union came into being. However, the potential consequences of Brexit for UK are clearly enormous. New House of Lords Baroness Jones of Viscount Slim Whitchurch Lord Spicer processes for interacting with our EU neighbours will be needed and funding Baroness Andrews Lord Judd Lord Stevenson of streams for UK research and academic interchange will have to come from Lord Armstrong of Ilminster Lord Kakkar Coddenham different routes. There is wide agreement that the UK did particularly well in the Lord Boswell of Aynho Lord Krebs Lord Stoddart of Swindon competition for scientific funding within the EU and this funding is clearly at risk. Lord Broers Lord MacKenzie of Culkein Lord Stone of Blackheath We have joined with many other scientific bodies to ensure that Ministers are in Lord Clement-Jones no doubt about this threat. Lord McColl of Dulwich Lord Sutherland of Lord Craig of Radley The Countess of Mar Houndwood Science has always benefitted from the free exchange and movement of Lord Davies of Coity Baroness Masham of Ilton Lord Taverne individuals, both students and more senior researchers, between research Baroness Dean of Lord May of Oxford Lord Tebbit Thornton-le-Fylde laboratories and institutions in different countries. There is no suggestion that, Baroness Neville-Rolfe Lord Thomas of Macclesfield provided they can be funded, such exchanges will not continue post-Brexit but Lord Deben Baroness Nicholson of (up to 2016) there is every indication that they will become bureaucratically more Lord Fox Winterbourne Baroness Thornton cumbersome. The uncertainty surrounding the next few years is certainly not Lord Framlingham Baroness Northover Lord Trees helpful to such cultural exchanges. Baroness Gibson of Lord O’Neil of Clackmannan Lord Trefgarne Market Rasen We hosted a seminar with George Freeman, representing the Government, in Lord Oxburgh Lord Turnberg Baroness Gould of September to allow some of these points to be discussed. Lord Patel Baroness Turner of Camden Potternewton Lord Patten The rest of the year was very much business as usual. Among a wide range of Lord Vinson Baroness Greenfield Baroness Perry of Southwark intriguing and sometimes provocative topics it is worth pointing out that we put Lord Wade of Chorlton Baroness Hamwee (retired 2016) together at very short notice a Science Week seminar on Zika virus once it had (retired 2016) Lord Haskel Lord Rea become clear what a dangerous threat was looming. Lord Waldegrave of North Lord Hennessy of Lord Rees of Ludlow Hill Nympsfield We welcomed Dr Ruth McKernan as our Guest of Honour at the Annual Lunch Lord Ribeiro Baroness Walmsley Baroness Hilton of Eggardon and were left in do doubt that InnovateUK was in safe and energetic hands. Viscount Ridley Lord Walton of Detchant Baroness Howe of Idlicote As a previous Chief Scientific Adviser to the Ministry of Defence, I was of course Lord Rooker (deceased April 2016) Lord Howie of Troon Lord Sainsbury of Turville Baroness Warwick of intrigued to see “Science and Warfare” as our December Discussion topic. Even Lord Hoyle scratching the surface of such a complex topic shows how much has advanced The Earl of Selborne Undercliffe Lord Hunt of Chesterton since I was in the hot seat. Baroness Sharp of Guildford Lord Willis of Lord Hunt of Wirral (retired 2016) Knaresborough We are looking forward to an equally stimulating and relevant set of meetings in Lord Jopling Viscount Simon Lord Winston the year to come. House of Commons Andrew Bridgen David Davies Adam Afriyie Jo Churchill The Rt Hon David Davis Ian Austin Dr Therese Coffey Martyn Day Bob Blackman Oliver Colvile Thangam Debbonaire Tom Blenkinsop Ronnie Cowan Jim Down Victoria Borwick Nic Dakin Nigel Evans Sir Peter Bottomley Chris Davies Robert Flello 2 3 Parl & Scientific Comm Annual Report 16.qxp 23/05/2017 17:09 Page 4 Rt Hon Caroline Flint Gareth Johnson Chris Philip Life Members Paul Flynn David Jones Jonathan Reynolds The Committee may also elect up to a maximum of twenty-five life members who, on George Freeman Phillip Lee Alok Sharma retirement from Parliament or their institution, will qualify by having served the Mark Garnier Chris Lewis Alec Shelbrooke Committee either as officers or in some other capacity and given valuable service to it. It Rt Hon Cheryl Gillan Kerry McCarthy Jeff Smith will be the responsibility of the Council to recommend such former members for this Mrs Helen Goodman Stephen McPartland Karin Smyth category. Robert Goodwill Shabana Mahmood Graham Stringer Arthur Butler Lord Jenkin of Roding Richard Page Rt Hon Michael Gove Stephen Metcalfe Alison Thewliss Tam Dalyell (deceased December 2016) Reg Sell Patrick Grady Rt Hon Ed Miliband Ed Vaizey Professor H Peter Jost Lord Spicer of Cropthorne Dr Ian Gibson Chris Green Carol Monaghan Ben Wallace (deceased June 2016) Ian Taylor Stephen Hammond David Morris Matt Warman Dr Brian Iddon Andrew Miller Dr Desmond Turner Sue Hayman David Mowat Tom Watson Dr Tom Inch Dr Douglas Naysmith Dr Peter Warren Kelvin Hopkins Chi Onwurah Hywel Williams Bernard Jenkin Sarah Newton Dr Sarah Wollaston Individual Members Members of the European Parliament The Committee may also elect individual members who, on retirement from Parliament or Stuart Agnew Julie Girling their institution, wish to remain actively engaged in the Committee’s activities. Individual Richard Ashworth Timothy Kirkhope membership shall have a term of five years, which shall be renewable. It will be the Ashley Fox Ms Jean Lambert responsibility of the Council to recommend individuals for this category. Hereditary Peers Lord Kirkwood Professor Derek Clements- Ian Morris Dr Keith Winters Earl of Cranbrook Lord Monkswell Croome Professor Robert Pickard Dr Richard Worswick Lord Hacking Lord Renwick Sir Frederick Crawford Professor Jane Plant Dr Tony Whitehead Lord Ironside Viscount Weir Dr John Dudeney (deceased March 2016) Dr Keith Winters Professor Michael Elves Dr Tony Whitehead Dr Richard Worswick Honorary Members The Committee may appoint honorary members who by virtue of their standing or their Scientific and Technical Organisations office may appropriately engage in the Committee’s activities. An organisation or society shall be eligible for election to the Committee as a Scientific HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and Technical Organisation if the Council is satisfied that it is either:- The President, The Royal Society (i) A National Institution or Association for qualifying scientists, engineers or The President, The Royal Academy of Engineering technologists; or Government Chief Business and Science Adviser (Professor Sir Mark Walport FRS) (ii) A Research Organisation which is not of a profit-making character, or part of an Chief Scientific Adviser, Ministry of Defence individual