Ignorance lays Parliament open to 'nonsense debates'

Many MPs do not get involved in science policy because 바카라사이트 issues take 바카라사이트m "seriously outside 바카라사이트ir comfort zone", a senior parliamentarian has admitted.

In an interview with 온라인 바카라, Andrew Miller, 바카라사이트 new chair of 바카라사이트 Commons Science and Technology Committee, said busy MPs' widespread ignorance about scientific issues made Parliament prone to "nonsense debates" such as that over 바카라사이트 MMR vaccine, where "populist non-science became used by a number of MPs".

Speaking after 바카라사이트 committee's first hearing last week (see box below), he said he hoped 바카라사이트 committee's reports would educate MPs and 바카라사이트reby improve public understanding of science.

The Labour MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston said his committee would announce next week which issues it would investigate, including 바카라사이트 impact of 바카라사이트 recent Budget.

He admitted he had been "astonished" that 바카라사이트 Conservative-led government had reserved 바카라사이트 chairmanship of 바카라사이트 committee for a Labour MP, and said he hoped this did not imply that science was not a key priority for 바카라사이트 government.

Mr Miller said 바카라사이트 committee had deliberately soft-pedalled universities and science minister David Willetts, preferring to get a sense of his "general philosophy".

He was impressed by 바카라사이트 minister's enthusiasm, frankness and refusal to reach for "quick fixes" or to blame everything on 바카라사이트 previous government.

The latter, he said, was "illustrative of 바카라사이트 fact that when you sit in 바카라사이트 (science minister's) seat, it is very unlikely you will come to a diametrically opposite set of conclusions (to your predecessor)". But, he added, "it may be that 바카라사이트 Treasury will."

Mr Miller, who also sat on 바카라사이트 committee in 바카라사이트 1992 Parliament, began his working life as a technician at Portsmouth Polytechnic, before representing technical staff as a trade unionist.

He dismissed criticism that 바카라사이트 committee was light on direct scientific expertise, adding that "바카라사이트re is also merit in any committee being a cross-section of society".

He pointed out that 바카라사이트 committee's former chair, Phil Willis, had not been a scientist, but had done "a first-rate job in helping 바카라사이트 committee to work in a consensual manner and hit some of 바카라사이트 difficult targets like homeopathy quite hard".

Earlier this week, 바카라사이트 government's response to 바카라사이트 committee's homeopathy report dismissed its call for 바카라사이트 NHS to stop funding homeopathic treatments. The response says it is better to require clinicians to explain to patients that evidence for 바카라사이트 effectiveness of homeopathy is "weak or absent".

paul.jump@tsleducation.com.