I am delighted to have this opportunity to announce the launch of the 3rd edition of this by now well-established web-based Guide to Science in Parliament and Government prepared by Dr David Dent, Vice President of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee.

The two earlier editions of the Guide, which were placed for maximum exposure to all-comers on the Committee's website and freely available without charge to anyone who visits this site, have provided a unique and valuable source of information, unavailable elsewhere, concerning the manner in which Science is managed by both Parliament and Government.

The extent to which the Guide has been accessed has also been continuously monitored to ensure that it is meeting the needs it is designed to address and in a form that also addresses the requirements of those with a need to know.

Important decisions which are made by Government and in Parliament are increasingly dependent on the receipt of accurate and reliable sources of information concerning both science and engineering. The recommendations are prepared and presented by those best qualified to do so, to the highest international standards, whether or not the Government subsequently decides to act on or partially or completely ignore this advice when making policy decisions that affect us all. If Ministers decide to reject the advice of expert scientific bodies, it is hugely important that they spell out the reasons - something that has not always happened in the past.

It is therefore increasingly important in a democracy that the mechanism by which such specialist advice is received and translated into policy becomes as transparent as possible, partly in order to be able to understand any policy-based reasons given for ignoring the advice from specialists.

There are currently some seventy-five groups which exist to provide Government with specialist advice on science and engineering and it is therefore very important for all concerned in a democracy that the existence, working methods and importance of this relatively invisible, but vitally important network becomes as accessible as possible for the ultimate benefit of everyone concerned.

I have no hesitation in recommending the Guide to you all.