Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he had with Dame Julia Slingo in advance of her standing down from the Scientific Advice Mechanism High-Level Group of the European Commission; and what steps he has taken to replace her with another UK scientist.

Dame Julia Slingo informed the European Commission in October that she would be retiring from professional life and wished to stand down from the High Level Group. This was not unexpected, as Dame Julia has also stepped down as Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Met Office as part of her retirement. The members of the High Level Group of Scientific Advisors are appointed by the Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation in a personal capacity, based on a short-list recommended by an independent Identification Committee.