Welcome to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee homepage. Information on the Committee's work during the current Session, as well as on earlier work, is provided on this site.
Click here for an overview of the Committee's work, or follow the links below to see news items, or information on recent inquiries. The House of Lords Information Office also produces a factsheet on the work of the committee.
What's New
Genomic Medicine
Personal Internet Security
Systematics and Taxonomy
Waste Reduction
Information on recent inquiries, including follow-up reports, can be found by following the links in the top right of the page. Older publications can be found through the publications link top left.
Overview
The Science and Technology Committee was established in 1979 and is one of the main investigative committees in the House of Lords. It represents a major forum of independent expertise, drawing on the wide experience of members of the House.
The Committee's broad remit is to consider science and technology. It works principally through inquiries undertaken by two Sub-Committees, constituted afresh for each inquiry.
Each inquiry leads to a report, published together with the evidence on which it is based, setting out the Committee's findings and making recommendations to the Government and others.
If you would like further information about the work of the Committee, or would like to comment on its work, please email hlscience@parliament.uk.
Nature and Subject of Inquiries
The Committee investigates activities across the whole range of Government:
Public policy areas which ought to be informed by scientific research: e.g. health effects of air travel, complementary and alternative medicine, legal status of cannabis.
Technological challenges and opportunities - existing and future - which Government faces: e.g. resistance to antibiotics, management of nuclear waste, human genetic databases, innovations in microprocessing, and the implications of digital imaging for the law of evidence.
Public policy towards science itself, e.g. as it affects Research Councils, schools and universities, public sector research establishments and industrial research and development.
The Committee seeks to balance life sciences and physical sciences across its programme; it does not normally undertake inquiries based purely on social science or economics.
Membership
The Committee has around 15 members, re-appointed by the House for each Session of Parliament. Members have included distinguished scientists and members with medical backgrounds, as well as lawyers, economists and politicians.
The Chairman of the Committee is appointed by the House.
How it Operates
Each major report is drawn up by a Sub-Committee. Members are drawn from the main Committee, with additional members chosen for specific inquiries because of their relevant expertise. Sub-Committees are chaired for the duration of the inquiry by the most appropriate Committee member.
Like other parliamentary committees investigating policy issues, Sub-Committees employ external Specialist Advisers, take written and oral evidence, and visit relevant places and organisations. Inquiries sometimes last as long as a year. A report, based on the evidence received, is then presented to the main Committee, published and later debated in the House of Lords.
Short Topical Inquiries and Follow-up Work
The main Committee sometimes undertakes shorter inquiries, either taking evidence from Ministers on topical issues, or following up previous work. Continuity in the Committee's membership helps ensure that issues and recommendations are followed up in this way. Unlike MPs, Lords do not lose their seats at general elections and, although a "rotation rule" ensures that membership is regularly refreshed, there is a strong element of continuity.
The Committee's Influence
Committee recommendations are largely directed at Government, though they may also have implications for industry, the professions and others. Some examples of its influence are as follows:
The Committee's report on Air Travel and Health did much to promote public awareness of health issues (and deep vein thrombosis in particular) connected with aviation. In order to implement the Committee's principal recommendation the Government established an inter-departmental Aviation Health Working Group in November 2000.
A report warning about the misuse of antibiotics led to increased publicity both within the NHS and for the general public, and a 19% drop in prescribing of antibiotics by GPs in England over 2 years. The Committee recently followed up this inquiry with the report Fighting Infection.
Reports of the Committee have led to the NHS Research and Development Strategy, the strengthening of the Joint (UK-wide) Nature Conservation Committee, and a system for the accreditation of forensic scientists.
Although the Government did not accept the main recommendations of the Committee's report on Cannabis: The Scientific and Medical Evidence, that cannabis should be legalised for medical use, the report raised the profile of a difficult issue and gave encouragement to research, which is now well under way.
Further information about the House is available on the Parliamentary website www.parliament.uk
