Enhancing the use of climate and environment evidence in the UK Parliament for policy scrutiny

The UK has a well-established system of Chief Scientific Advisors (CSAs) who advise the UK Government on science relevant to policy development and implementation. There is also a much more recently established group of Thematic Research Leads (TRLs) who support Parliament in their policy scrutiny activities. (Here, “Government” refers to the Prime Minister and other Ministers who run the country with the support of the (very large) Civil Service; “Parliament” refers to all Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons (HoC) and all Peers who sit in the House of Lords (HoL) who scrutinise, and can support or oppose Government motions and policies, with the support of a (relatively small) Parliamentary staff.)

I was appointed as the Climate and Environment TRL in 2024, alongside 7 other experts in other fields, to support the work of Parliament for a 2 year period. I have used the position to support parliamentary activities by bringing in high-quality evidence and new voices on climate and environmental issues, particularly in my area of research: climate change adaptation. I believe that adaptation is relatively poorly represented and examined in Government and Parliament by the relevant Parliamentary staff, MPs and Peers.

I have been particularly involved with Select Committees (SCs), which play a major part in the UK Parliament’s scrutiny role and are a particular area where relevant research expertise and a strong link to the academic community has benefits. SCs hold inquiries into significant and emerging issues that impact the work of individual government departments or on issues that cut across departments. In my role, I have helped various SCs scope out future inquiries, identified, encouraged and supported academic researchers (and others) to submit written evidence and agree to attend oral evidence sessions, contributed my own expertise where relevant, and supported the SC members and staff in drafting the final reports. These SC reports have an important place in the UK system as the Government is required to respond to the report and consider the recommendations that they make.

I have also contributed to: the research and writing of HoC and HoL Library and Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology briefings on important and emerging climate and environment issues for members; arranged and contributed to training and knowledge exchange events for Parliamentary staff; supported staff in answering direct queries from members; and worked on similar initiatives with the devolved Parliaments of the UK’s nations (i.e. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales).

This presentation reflects on the TRL experience, with a particular focus on general lessons for engaging with Parliamentarians.