Administration CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Adam Afriyie MP

Thank you for your letter regarding the Administration Committee’s inquiry into induction arrangements for new Members after the next general election.

May I recommend that a series of short sessions on science and statistics be implemented as a formal part of the induction process in 2015. These sessions needn’t be more than one hour in duration, and I would suggest that there would be just three main sessions:

1.The scientific approach to life and policy-making—testing hypotheses against data.

2.The proper use of statistics. I am certain that the Royal Society and the Royal Statistical Society would be keen to be involved in some capacity.

3.A one hour session subdivided into a series of short, snappy sections on the topical scientific policy issues of the day. These might be led by eminent writers on science with excellent presentation skills such as Ben Goldacre and Simon Singh.

As Chair of the Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology (POST) and former Shadow Minister for Science & Innovation, I am keen to see science literacy training established as a core component of the induction programme. Evidence-based policy-making will help deliver the jobs and economic growth that our country needs, so it is vital that the value of a scientific approach to policy-making is engrained from the very start.

Please do contact my office if you think that POST might be of assistance in developing these proposals for the purposes of your inquiry.

30 January 2013