Letter dated 13 March 2009 from the Rt
Hon Jacqui Smith MP, Secretary of State for the Home Office to
Professor John Beddington, Government Chief Scientific Adviser
THE ADVISORY
COUNCIL ON
THE MISUSE
OF DRUGS
Thank you for your letter of 9 March. The advice
that the ACMD gives (both scientific and wider) is work that I
value, demonstrated by the fact that I, and previous Home Secretaries,
have accepted the vast majority of the Council's recommendations.
I agree that the advice the ACMD provides can be in politically
sensitive areas, which requires appropriate handling by all involved
in the Council.
I am grateful for your offer to work with my officials
and I know that you are already in close contact with Professor
Paul Wiles and his team on the department's use of science and
scientific advice. I will ensure that my officials involve you
when I commission the ACMD process review and that the review
refers to the Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees
in its Terms of Reference.
I am copying this letter to John Denham, Gus O'Donnell,
David Normington, Mandie Campbell and Paul Wiles.
| 
