Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings she had with her Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser from (a) 1 March 2020 to 31 May 2020, (b) 1 June 2020 to 31 August 2020, (c) 1 September 2020 to 30 November 2020 and (d) 1 December 2020 to 28 February 2021.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Ministers meet with the Home Office Chief Scientific Adviser as necessary during the process of policy development and delivery.
During the periods in question, the Home Secretary met with Professor John Aston on numerous occasions from 1st March 2020 until he left the department at the end of December 2020.
Following John Aston’s term in post, Professor Jennifer Rubin was appointed as the new Home Office Chief Scientific Adviser from January 2021. Since January 2021 Professor Rubin met the Home Secretary and other Ministers regularly up until 28th February 2021 and continues to do so.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings she had with her Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser (a) from 1 September to 30 November 2019 and (b) from 1 December 2019 to 29 February 2020.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Ministers meet with Professor John Aston, the Home Office Chief Scientific Adviser, as necessary during the process of policy development and delivery. During the periods in question, the Home Secretary met with Professor John Aston on numerous occasions.