The Science and Technology Select Committee is a
select committee of the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
in the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...
.
The original Science and Technology Committee was abolished upon the creation of the
Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee on 6 November 2007. However, just 19 months later, the government announced that it was re-establishing the committee following the recommendation of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee after the merging of the
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) was a United Kingdom government department. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and was itself disbande ...
and the
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills in June 2009. The House of Commons approved the re-establishment of the committee on 25 June 2009. The committee was officially re-established on 1 October 2009 and has a remit to examine the work of the
Government Office for Science. The committee currently scrutinises the
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is a department of His Majesty's Government. The department was formed during a machinery of government change on 14 July 2016, following Theresa May's appointment as Prime ...
, headed by the
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy,
Kwasi Kwarteng. The position of
Science Minister is vacant following the resignation of
George Freeman.
21st Report - Balance and effectiveness of research and innovation spending
Terms of Reference
In May 2018, UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) published its Strategic Prospectus, which represents "the beginning of the process to develop a detailed Research and Innovation Strategy". It states that "We will work with Government to develop a plan for meeting this target
Membership
The Right Honourable Greg Clark was elected as the new chair in the
58th parliament in January 2020. He defeated fellow Conservative Party (UK)">Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
. He stood down as chair following his appointment to the cabinet as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities">Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary, but was re-elected unopposed to the position in October 2022. As of July 2022, membership is as follows:
The election of the chair took place on 12 July 2017, with the members of the committee being announced on 11 September 2017.
The chair was elected on 18 June 2015, with members being announced on 13 July 2015.
The chair was elected on 10 June 2010, with members being announced on 12 July 2010.
*Parliamentary Committees of the United Kingdom
*Science and Technology Committee (House of Lords)
*Science, technology and society, Science and technology