20 Jan Public to question MPs on the use of evidence in Parliament at ‘reverse’ Select Committee hearing
In a unique development at the opening of Evidence Week in Parliament on Monday 20th January, the chairs of nine parliamentary Select Committees will take the witness seat to be questioned by voters about the evidence behind legislation.
· How are renewable energy options compared?
· What assessments have been done on the impact of rural transport cuts on access to medicine?
· Do MPs calculate trade-offs between conservation and energy efficient homes?
· Is Parliament tracking post-covid attendance in schools?
· What evidence supports the Government’s statement that Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims will double in 4 years?
· What is the evidence behind different parental leave entitlements?
· What evidence will Parliament demand from water companies?
· Is prisons policy based on more evidence or on values?
These and other questions have been drawn from constituencies across the UK by the charity Sense about Science and by community groups including MumsNet, MoneySavingExpert and Shout Out UK. The exchanges will be livestreamed [1] to kick off this year’s Evidence Week in Parliament, organised by Sense about Science, the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology and the House of Commons and House of Lords Libraries.
While the rest of the week brings cutting edge science briefings and training to Westminster, Tracey Brown, director of Sense about Science points out:
“MPs care about what the public cares about – and the public cares a lot more about sound reasoning and evidence than is often portrayed. People want policies that add up, and they want their MPs to be interrogating that, so get to set that out at the opening event next week.”
A 2024 survey by Sense about Science and Ipsos [2] found that:
· The public are not confident that MPs are equipped to question the government about evidence on polices, including the use of AI (66% not very or not at all confident), Climate change (64%), Healthcare (61%), Energy policy (59%) and the economy (58%).
· 74% think it is important the government shows the public all the evidence used to make important policy decisions (up from 66% in 2023 and 61% in 2022).
· Most people think politicians pay too little attention to evidence (62%, up from 51% in 2023 and 53% in 2022).
Chi Onwurah MP, Chair of the Commons’ Science Innovation and Technology Committee, who will take the hot seat in front of public questioners in the Wilson Room, described Evidence Week as an “invaluable opportunity’” In full:
“Scientific evidence forms the base of all sound legislation and scrutiny. Robust evidence and analysis are vital to effectively tackle the biggest challenges our country faces, whether it’s economic growth, climate change or making our NHS fit for the future.
“This is why Evidence Week is such an invaluable opportunity – it brings together parliamentarians, researchers and the public to discuss and understand the evidence behind important policy issues. MPs need to have the skills, knowledge and confidence to effectively scrutinise the Government’s policies, hold it to account, and ensure it delivers on its goals.”
Rhiannon Evans, Head of Communications at Mumsnet, said:
“We’re delighted to be taking part in Evidence Week. Our nine million Mumsnet users are highly engaged with politics, and we see conversations on our forums every day where Mumsnetters scrutinise the evidence (or lack of!) behind the policy decisions that affect their lives. We’re looking forward to putting some of those questions to decision makers directly”.
