Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking ensure the continuity of independent medical advice to the National Police Chiefs Council's Less Lethal Weapons Working Group, following the replacement of the Science Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons with the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons Expert Committee.

The provision of a robust medical assessment of the effects of any less lethal weapon is critical to ensuring that when police use less lethal weapons, they use them safely and effectively to protect the public and prevent harm. The Scientific Advisory Council on the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons (SACMILL) has played an important role in this to date and plans are in place to ensure robust independent medical advice continues under the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons Executive Committee (MILLWEC), in line with the Code of Practice for Armed Policing and Police Use of Less Lethal Weapons.

The Home Office has been working closely with the Ministry of Defence to manage the transition and ensure no disruption to the provision of independent scientific advice. MILLWEC will be established from 30 November and SACMILL will continue in their advisory function until then. A framework, which will support the independence and accountability of the new committee, has been developed and is publicly available on the gov.uk website Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons Expert Committee - GOV.UK

Processes are in place to ensure Home Office management of the committee retains their independence at every level, in line with the Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees and Councils.