Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings he had with his 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.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Ministers continually draw on science advice. Science advice, and the use of evidence, is an integral component to the process of FCDO policy and programmatic decision-making. Scientific advice and the latest evidence is communicated to Ministers regularly, largely through submissions, information notes and update paragraphs, as well as in 1-1 meetings. The Chief Scientific Adviser also sits on the Executive Committee (ExCo), embedding science advice into FCDO's senior leadership's decision making. Beyond this, Ministers also regularly meet with the Department's Chief Scientific Adviser, and her office. I [Minister Duddridge] have personally met the Chief Scientific Adviser many times over the specified time periods, including 18 November 2020, 28 January 2021, with our most recent meeting on 3 March 2021. The Foreign Secretary most recently met with his Chief Scientific Adviser on 8 March 2021.