Science Advisory Council open meeting 2008

The Science Advisory Council, the key independent body advising Defra Scientists and Ministers, held an open meeting on 28 October 2008. Over 170 people attended on the day. This was an excellent opportunity to see how the Council works, and find out more about the big scientific challenges Defra is facing.

The meeting examined:

  • Defra's Evidence Programme – establishing the major evidence challenges Defra is facing and the future research and development activities needed to tackle these,
  • The Council’s role in continuing to provide the best possible independent strategic science advice to Defra,
  • Current animal health issues, including an update on work to identify research gaps and priorities for the control of Bluetongue

John Beddington, Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor addressed the meeting on “Key Science Challenges across Government”.

Science Advisory Council (SAC) Meeting – 28 October 2008 order proceedings

1. Welcome
  • Introduction
  • Conflicts of interest relating to today’s meeting to be declared
2. Minutes of the seventeenth meeting (4 June 2008)
3. Independent Secretary’s report
4. Chairman’s report

Update on recent activities in capacity as SAC Chair (not covered elsewhere on agenda) including:

5. Report from the Defra Director of the Evidence Programme

Update paper on key issues from Miles Parker, and response to questions arising from SAC

  • Defra response to House of Lords Science and Technology Committee Report and Recommendations on Systematic Biology and Taxonomy (Action 6.8)
  • Report on Defra progress on the GO-Science follow-up to the 2006 OSI Defra Science Review.(Action 6.15)
  • Update on Defra involvement in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit (based in the Cabinet Office) study on food and food policy (Action 6.18)
  • Defra Laboratory Agency Audits: Cross-cutting issues (Action 6.22)
  • Other
  • Report from the Defra Director of the Evidence Programme - SAC(08) 27 (PDF 40 KB)
6. Report from the Defra Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA)

Update on key issues (not covered elsewhere on agenda) from the Defra CSA (Professor Bob Watson), including:

7a. Defra Evidence Programme and Evidence Strategy Update

Brief update and introduction to the Defra Evidence Programme (Stuart Wainwright, Head of Evidence Strategy Project)

7b. Evidence Priorities
Keynote address

Professor John Beddington (Government Chief Scientific Advisor) “Key science challenges across Government”

8. SAC reflection on keynote address and morning discussions
9. SAC Capability Sub-Group (SAC-C)

Update on progress of the Defra Strategic Capability Project and associated SAC-C work (Stuart Wainwright, Head of Evidence Strategy Project; Andy Stirling, SAC-C Chair)

10. Animal Disease

Also present for this section: Alick Simmons (Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer).

a) SAC Epidemic Diseases Sub-Group (SAC-ED) update on bluetongue disease

b) Bovine Tuberculosis (b-TB) in cattle and badgers

11. Future work plan and wrap up session
12. AOB

 


apeg last modified: 8 April 2009
Page published: 19 November 2008