How did UK policymaking in the COVID-19 response use science? Evidence from scientific advisers

Background: Responses to COVID-19 have invested heavily in science. How this science was used is therefore important. Our work extends existing knowledge on the use of science in the pandemic by capturing scientific advisers’ experiences in real time.Aims and objectives: Our aim was to present generalisable messages on key qualifications or difficulties involved in speaking of ‘following the science’.Methods: Ninety-three interviews with UK scientific advisors and government officials captured their activities and perceptions during the pandemic in real time. We also examined Parliamentary Select Committee transcripts and government documents. This material was analysed for thematic content.Findings and discussion: (1) Many scientists sought guidance from policymakers about their goals, yet the COVID-19 response demonstrated the absence of a clear steer, and a tendency to change course quickly; (2) many scientists did not want to offer policy advice, but rather to provide evidence; and (3) a range of knowledge informed the UK’s pandemic response: we examine which kinds were privileged, and demonstrate the absence of clarity on how government synthesised the different forms of evidence being used.Conclusions: Understanding the reasons for a lack of clarity about policy goals would help us better understand the use of science in policy. Realisation that policy goals sometimes alter rapidly would help us better understand the logistics of scientific advice. Many scientists want their evidence to inform policy rather than determine the options selected. Since the process by which evidence leads to decisions is obscure, policy cannot be said to be evidence-based.<br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Scientific advisors need to know policy goals, but these can be obscure and changeable.</li><br /><li>Many scientists want their evidence to inform policy rather than determine the policy selected.</li><br /><li>Evidence feeds into decisions in obscure ways, so policy cannot be said to be evidence-based.</li><br /><li>‘Evidence-informed’ policy is a more feasible aim than ‘evidence-based’ policy.</li></ul>

The criminalisation of intentionally harmful digital communications - Encouraging the responsible use of cyberspace or an offence of unnecessarily limited application?

<p>The Harmful Digital Communications Bill has recently been reported back from the Justice and Electoral Select Committee. The Bill seeks to deter, prevent and mitigate the harm caused to individuals through digital communications and to provide victims of harmful digital communications with a quick and efficient means of redress. In addition to modernising existing legislation and establishing a new civil enforcement regime, the Bill controversially introduces a new criminal offence of posting a harmful communication with the intent that the communication causes harm to a victim. Surprisingly, the offence differs significantly from comparable legislation abroad where neither a mens rea standard of intent is present nor a requirement that a victim must suffer serious emotional distress in order for an offender to be liable. This paper critiques the likely application of the offence and ultimately concludes that in light of differing legislation abroad and cases which have arisen since the enactment of the Communications Act in the United Kingdom, that the mens rea standard should be modified to include subjective recklessness, and the requirement that an intended victim must suffer actual harm should be removed.</p>

The criminalisation of intentionally harmful digital communications - Encouraging the responsible use of cyberspace or an offence of unnecessarily limited application?

<p>The Harmful Digital Communications Bill has recently been reported back from the Justice and Electoral Select Committee. The Bill seeks to deter, prevent and mitigate the harm caused to individuals through digital communications and to provide victims of harmful digital communications with a quick and efficient means of redress. In addition to modernising existing legislation and establishing a new civil enforcement regime, the Bill controversially introduces a new criminal offence of posting a harmful communication with the intent that the communication causes harm to a victim. Surprisingly, the offence differs significantly from comparable legislation abroad where neither a mens rea standard of intent is present nor a requirement that a victim must suffer serious emotional distress in order for an offender to be liable. This paper critiques the likely application of the offence and ultimately concludes that in light of differing legislation abroad and cases which have arisen since the enactment of the Communications Act in the United Kingdom, that the mens rea standard should be modified to include subjective recklessness, and the requirement that an intended victim must suffer actual harm should be removed.</p>

Regulating lobbyists in New Zealand

<p>Lobbying is a vital aspect of democratic governance and is for the most part beneficial to society. However, recent high-profile instances of lobbying activity in New Zealand have damaged governmental integrity and appear to have diminished public confidence in government decision-making processes. The Lobbying Disclosure Bill was introduced to the New Zealand Parliament in 2012 in the hope that transparency mechanisms could dissuade harmful lobbying without impeding ordinary activity. The Bill was rejected at the select committee stage due to a number of drafting deficiencies. These shortcomings made the Bill difficult to implement, and imposed a disproportionate limit on a number of human rights. Despite these failings, it is both possible and desirable to regulate lobbying activity in New Zealand. Drawing from overseas experiences, this paper suggests modifications to the Lobbying Disclosure Bill which would discourage harmful lobbying while also mitigating the concerns raised by critics of the Bill.</p>

Regulating lobbyists in New Zealand

<p>Lobbying is a vital aspect of democratic governance and is for the most part beneficial to society. However, recent high-profile instances of lobbying activity in New Zealand have damaged governmental integrity and appear to have diminished public confidence in government decision-making processes. The Lobbying Disclosure Bill was introduced to the New Zealand Parliament in 2012 in the hope that transparency mechanisms could dissuade harmful lobbying without impeding ordinary activity. The Bill was rejected at the select committee stage due to a number of drafting deficiencies. These shortcomings made the Bill difficult to implement, and imposed a disproportionate limit on a number of human rights. Despite these failings, it is both possible and desirable to regulate lobbying activity in New Zealand. Drawing from overseas experiences, this paper suggests modifications to the Lobbying Disclosure Bill which would discourage harmful lobbying while also mitigating the concerns raised by critics of the Bill.</p>

'[T]he Sound of the Bell Amidst the Wilds': Evangelical Perceptions of Northern Aotearoa/New Zealand Maori and the Aboriginal Peoples of Port Phillip, Australia, c.1820s-1840s

<p>This study investigates evangelical missionary perceptions of northern Aotearoa/New Zealand Maori and the Aboriginal peoples of the Port Phillip district of New South Wales, Australia, during the 1820s-1840s, a period when evangelical humanitarianism was at its height and European racial thinking was in a particularly formative stage. The thesis uses three case studies: the Church Missionary Society missionaries George Clarke and the Reverend William Yate in northern Aotearoa/New Zealand, and the Wesleyan Missionary Society missionary the Reverend Francis Tuckfield in the Port Phillip district of New South Wales, Australia. Clarke, Yate, and Tuckfield's perceptions of the indigenous peoples they sought to 'save' are explored through an examination of journals, letters to missionary society secretaries in London, personal correspondence, and in the case of Yate, evidence presented to the ' House of Commons' Select Committee on Aborigines (British Settlements)' and his published Account of New Zealand (1835). Particular attention is paid to how these men's perceptions changed over three key stages: prior to arriving in their respective mission fields, the initial period following their arrival, and after a significant period of residence. Evangelical missionary endeavour in both Aotearoa/New Zealand and Australia is compared in this thesis because in the early nineteenth century these two places were part of a common Tasman world. The similarities in evangelical experiences in the Tasman world during this period reveal an evangelical community within which ideas and information flowed freely. Comparative exploration of evangelical perceptions of northern Maori and the Aboriginal peoples of Port Phillip reveals that adaptation and evolution occurred through missionaries' experiences. Evolution of evangelical ideas is revealed in missionary encounters with a number of non-European populations, which further shaped missionary ideas about those they sought to 'save'. Adaptation of evangelical ideas is reflected in the different evangelical experiences in Aotearoa/New Zealand and Australia. These differences, most significantly the opposing experiences of success in Aotearoa/New Zealand and failure in Port Phillip, Australia, indicate that evangelical views of non-Europeans were not static, but rather they were altered as a result of experience.</p>

'[T]he Sound of the Bell Amidst the Wilds': Evangelical Perceptions of Northern Aotearoa/New Zealand Maori and the Aboriginal Peoples of Port Phillip, Australia, c.1820s-1840s

<p>This study investigates evangelical missionary perceptions of northern Aotearoa/New Zealand Maori and the Aboriginal peoples of the Port Phillip district of New South Wales, Australia, during the 1820s-1840s, a period when evangelical humanitarianism was at its height and European racial thinking was in a particularly formative stage. The thesis uses three case studies: the Church Missionary Society missionaries George Clarke and the Reverend William Yate in northern Aotearoa/New Zealand, and the Wesleyan Missionary Society missionary the Reverend Francis Tuckfield in the Port Phillip district of New South Wales, Australia. Clarke, Yate, and Tuckfield's perceptions of the indigenous peoples they sought to 'save' are explored through an examination of journals, letters to missionary society secretaries in London, personal correspondence, and in the case of Yate, evidence presented to the ' House of Commons' Select Committee on Aborigines (British Settlements)' and his published Account of New Zealand (1835). Particular attention is paid to how these men's perceptions changed over three key stages: prior to arriving in their respective mission fields, the initial period following their arrival, and after a significant period of residence. Evangelical missionary endeavour in both Aotearoa/New Zealand and Australia is compared in this thesis because in the early nineteenth century these two places were part of a common Tasman world. The similarities in evangelical experiences in the Tasman world during this period reveal an evangelical community within which ideas and information flowed freely. Comparative exploration of evangelical perceptions of northern Maori and the Aboriginal peoples of Port Phillip reveals that adaptation and evolution occurred through missionaries' experiences. Evolution of evangelical ideas is revealed in missionary encounters with a number of non-European populations, which further shaped missionary ideas about those they sought to 'save'. Adaptation of evangelical ideas is reflected in the different evangelical experiences in Aotearoa/New Zealand and Australia. These differences, most significantly the opposing experiences of success in Aotearoa/New Zealand and failure in Port Phillip, Australia, indicate that evangelical views of non-Europeans were not static, but rather they were altered as a result of experience.</p>

Genetic Food Futures

The aim of this article is to offer an answer to the question: How can we improve public engagement in the genetically modified organisms debate? It will describe the models of Public Understanding of Science and Public Engagement with Science. Public Understanding of Science dates back to the 1970s and is intended to create a relationship between science and people through education. The UK’s House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology introduced the Public Engagement with Science model in 2000. Public Engagement with Science calls for a dialogue between scientists and society, enabling science to be questioned. These models have been used in the past with controversial issues such as GM organisms, although not always successfully. The article concludes by proposing the Genetically Modified Organism Consortium. This proposal is based on the idea of engaging more voices in the debate, and offers a global, national and local response.