Defra Science Advisory Council
Council Members
The SAC comprises 15 independent members, appointed through open competition. Members are selected for their breadth of scientific knowledge across the range of topics covered in Defra's remit (including the social sciences), rather than for their individual specialisms. The SAC also has a non-scientist lay member and an independent Secretary. The Council co-opts others to provide further expert advice as required.
Current Council Members are:
- Professor Christopher Gaskell (Chair)
Principal, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester - Ms Hilary Burrage (Lay member)
Freelance Consultant in Strategic Public Policy; Non-Executive Director of the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA), Vice-Chair of the NW Regional Sustainability Group. - Professor Roland Clift CBE
Professor of Environmental Technology and former Director of Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey; past Member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution - Professor Sheila Crispin
Senior Vice-President Council Member, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Co-chair of Defra Laboratory Science Agencies Audit - Professor Paul Elliott
Head of Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, Imperial College, London - Professor Neil Ferguson OBE
Chair of Mathematical Biology, Imperial College, London - Professor Philip Lowe OBE
Director, Rural Economy and Land Use Programme of the UK Research Councils - Professor Peter M Guthrie OBE
Professor of Engineering for Sustainable Development, University of Cambridge - Professor Angela McLean
Professor of Mathematical Biology (Zoology Department) Oxford University; Member of the National Expert Panel for New and Emerging Infections - Professor Thomas Meagher
Professor of Plant Biology, University of St Andrew's - Professor John Shepherd FRS
Professor of Marine Sciences, University of Southampton - Sir John Skehel FRS
Former Director of the Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research - Professor Andrew Stirling
Professorial Fellow & Scientific Director, Science & Technology Policy Research, University of Sussex - Professor Jeffrey Waage OBE
Director, The International Development Centre (Bloomsbury Colleges), & Visiting Professor, Imperial College, London.
Devolved Administration Observers
- Dr Seamus Kennedy, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland
- Professor Maggie Gill, Chief Science Adviser, Scottish Government, Environment & Rural Affairs Department
- Mr Chris Lea, Head of Technical Unit, Food and Farming Delivery Division (EPC) (Welsh Assembly Government)
Research Council Assessors
- Professor Ian Diamond, Chief Executive, Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC)
- Professor Alan Thorpe, Chief Executive, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
- Professor Nigel Brown, Director of Science & Technology, Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
- Professor David Delpy, Chief Executive, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Register of interests
For the Science Advisory Council (SAC) to comply with the openness and
accountability standards set by the Office of the Commissioner for Public
Appointments (OCPA) it is necessary for members to declare their interests
which may be relevant to the work of the SAC. These interests are recorded
in a register
and are made available to the public via the SAC web site.
Members interests are reviewed on a regular basis and any changes are
published. Members are also asked to declare any specific conflicts of
interests at the start of SAC and sub-group meetings and to withdraw from
the room for the duration of these items on the agenda.
All members are asked to declare any personal interests (including relevant
interests of close family and household members) and non-personal interests
(for example, those relating to university departments for which a member
may be responsible) which they feel might conflict with their responsibilities
as a member of the SAC, or which may be perceived (by a reasonable member
of the public) to influence their judgement. Members are asked to declare
financial and non-financial interests.
Members are not asked to declare:
- shareholdings through unit trusts or similar arrangements where the member has no influence on financial management
- professional speaking engagements relevant to the work of the SAC unless the member is being paid to make a specific point
Note that neither the members nor the secretariat are under an obligation to seek out links of which they might not reasonably be aware. For example, either through not being aware of all the interests of family members, or of not being aware of links between one company and another.
If you would like to comment or be added to the Science Advisory Council's stakeholder mailing list please email: science.advisory.council@defra.gsi.gov.uk
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last modified: 1 July 2008
Page published: 7 February 2008