Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings the Secretary of State for International Development 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 and (c) 1 September 2020 to 2 September 2020.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Ministers continually draw on science advice. Science is an integral component to the process of FCDO policy and programmatic decision-making, informed by the latest research and evidence, which is communicated to Ministers regularly largely through submissions, information notes and update paragraphs. The Chief Scientific Adviser also sits on the Executive Committee (ExCo), embedding science advice into FCDO's senior leadership's decision making. The former Secretary of State for International Development, The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, met with her Chief Scientific Adviser 9 times during the period 1 March 2020 to 31 May 2020, 4 times during the period 1 June 2020 to 31 August 2020 and did not meet on the 1 or 2 September 2020. The Chief Scientific Adviser, and her office, provides all Ministers with regular written submissions and briefings on science and research activities.