About The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee

Established 1939

The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee is a primary focus for scientific and technological issues providing a long-term liaison between Parliamentarians and scientific bodies, science-based industry and the academic world. The main aim is to focus on those issues where science and politics meet, informing Members of both Houses of Parliament by indicating the relevance of scientific and technological developments to matters of public interest and to the development of policy.

The Committee meets once a month when Parliament is sitting to debate a scientific or technological topic and its relationship with political issues. These debates take place in the Palace of Westminster, starting at 5.30pm and are usually followed by informal receptions. Attendance is typically 80-100 with about one quarter being Parliamentarians. Most debates are followed by a working dinner where the informal atmosphere facilitates open and wide-ranging discussion between interested Parliamentarians and those most closely concerned with the evening's topic.

The Committee arranges visits to industrial and scientific establishments. Typically a party of a dozen or so will include two or three Parliamentarians who will thereby have an in-depth introduction to some aspect of the real world of science and technology.

Science in Parliament is the Committee's Journal which is published four times a year. It presents a complete and unique record of science and technology in both Houses of Parliament and the European Community. It provides insights into the information and briefings supplied to Members of Parliament on scientific subjects. Each issue includes:

• Authoritative addresses to the Committee. Recent addresses have included those on Pandemics, Obesity, Land Use and Management and Risk.
• Reports on the activities of the Science and Technology Select Committees in both Houses and a summary of the briefings received by MPs from the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology and the Science and Environment Section of the House of Commons Library.
• The UK Parliamentary section reports on policy issues and activities relating to science and technology: progress of legislation, selected debates and reports, detailed digests of Questions and Answers and Debates related to science and technology.
• The Euro-News section gives concise information on scientific news and events within the European Union and reports on progress of legislation.
• The Science Directory: A source of expert advice or impartial opinion on scientific and technological subjects.

Enquiries to: The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, 3 Birdcage Walk, London SW1H 9JJ. Tel: 020 7222 7085 Fax: 020 7222 7189, or through the contacts page