Policy Consultations

Below are The Society’s submissions within the past 18 months. The short summaries below outline the Committee or body requesting information as well as The Society’s key message for each submission.

To get involved in future consultation responses, please email policy@physoc.org with your name, career stage and topics of interest.

2023

Prevention in Health and Social Care
The Commons Health and Social Care Committee launched a call for proposals looking at the looking at the prevention of ill health. The inquiry looked at the wide range of factors contributing to ill health and what steps should be taken to prevent it.  

Prevention, Early Intervention, and Better Public Services for all
The Labour Party’s 2023 National Policy Forum (NPF) launched a consultation exploring how early intervention can reduce health inequalities, support women’s health, and improve services for vulnerable children. The consultation seeks advice on three main areas of public services: health and mental health services, social care and education and skills.  

Emerging Diseases and Learnings from COVID-19
The House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee launched an inquiry into how the Government is applying lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, and which of these could be applied to prevent the emergence and spread of new emerging diseases with pandemic potential. 

AI Regulation: A Pro-Innovation Approach 

This section will be updated once the evidence has been formally published. 

Major Conditions Strategy: Call for Evidence 

This section will be updated once the evidence has been formally published. 

Heat Resilience and Sustainable Cooling 

This section will be updated once the evidence has been formally published. 

2022

Clinical Academics in the National Health Service (NHS)
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee launched an inquiry into the role of clinical academics in the NHS. Clinical academics are qualified doctors who combine working as a specialist doctor with research and/or teaching responsibilities. They bring their hospital experience into their academic research, and vice-versa, strengthening the use of evidence-based practice and applying innovative medical techniques in the field. However, with increased pressures on the NHS workforce, the Committee had heard concerns that clinical academics do not have enough time to undertake research.  

RDI Landscape Review 
Sir Paul Nurse has convened a group of representatives across the research, development and innovation landscape based in the UK and internationally, in order to support the development of the RDI Landscape Review. The Review is designed to secure and advance the UK’s status as a global science superpower and leader in new fields of research and cutting-edge technologies. Stakeholders, such as The Physiological Society, have been invited to share their knowledge and expertise of how research-performing organisations and the wider landscape operate and work together. 

UKRI Impact consultation
UKRI is currently reviewing its systems to better understand the effectiveness of the research council’s current approaches in supporting impact across UKRI and through the investments they fund. 

Delivering a UK Science and Technology Strategy 
The House of Lord’s Science and Technology Committee conducted an inquiry into the Government’s plans to deliver a UK science and technology strategy. The Committee inquired into what such a strategy should look like and how the UK’s research and innovation system can deliver it. 

UKRI New Deal for Postgraduate Research
The New Deal for Postgraduate Research (“the New Deal”) by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a long-term piece of work that aims to improve the experience and quality of postgraduate research training in the UK. It aims to ensure that postgraduate research in the UK remains sustainable, open and attractive to a wide range of candidates (both from the UK and internationally) and delivers the highly qualified and skilled researchers and innovators the UK and global societies need. The consultation focused on four areas: routes in, through and out, funding and financial support, rights and conditions, and models and access.  

UK Future Research Assessment Programme 
The Future Research Assessment Programme (FRAP) was launched in May 2021. It aimed to explore possible approaches to the assessment of UK higher education research performance and strengthen the emphasis on delivering excellent research impact by supporting a positive research culture. The consultation sought views on the following features of a future assessment framework: purposes of a future exercise, guiding principles and priorities for system design, defining research excellence, and assessment criteria, assessment processes, including frequency, granularity and use of metrics. 

The Role of Medical Research in Reducing Health Disparities
The  All-Party Parliamentary Group on Medical Research conducted an inquiry in July 2022 into ‘Health Disparities: why medical research is a crucial tool for health equity.’ The pandemic has exposed ever increasing health disparities across the UK. People’s health outcomes are increasingly unduly determined by their ethnicity, age, and socio-economic background. Research has already shown that those living in the most deprived areas of England and Wales are twice as likely to die after contracting COVID-19, whilst their overall life expectancy is over seven years lower than those in the least deprived areas. Medical research has a key role in alleviating health disparities and it is Government’s upcoming plans to reduce health disparities, including the Health Disparities White paper, acknowledge and support the vital role it has to play. 

‘My Science’ Enquiry
The Commons Science and Technology Committee launched a call for potential topics of inquiry in the areas of science and technology. The ‘My Science Inquiry’ invited proposals on what the Committee should investigate next and why, including what action is needed from the Government. The Committee sought ideas for inquiries from the science, research and innovation communities as well as the wider public. 

People and Skills in UK Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee conducted an inquiry in July 2022 into people and skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the UK. The considered whether the UK has a sufficiently skilled workforce to become a “science and technology superpower”, and what policies can be done to develop and retain skills in the UK workforce. 

Advanced Research & Invention Agency (ARIA) Roundtable Input
The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), a government research agency, requested evidence for transformational ‘Moonshot’ ideas to tackle global challenges. ARIA requested the research community develop  a short pitch of about 300 words proposing roundtable sessions to develop potential themes that could be taken forward. 

Net Zero Review – Call for Evidence
The Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy conducted an inquiry in October 2022 into the government’s approach to delivering its net zero targets. Since climate change impacts consumers, employees and businesses alike, and affects cities, agricultural economy and natural environment, this call for evidence aims to provide open channel for organisations and the general public to provide their views on the transition net zero. 

2021

Treasury R&D Tax Reliefs: Consultation
The government launched a review of R&D tax reliefs at Budget 2021. This wide ranging consultation seeks views from stakeholders on the current R&D tax relief schemes.

Research Bureaucracy Review
The Review is undertaking a ‘whole-system’ analysis that covers a wide range of processes and activities including the development, submission and assessment of funding applications; governance and assurance; digital research platforms as well as project management and reporting. The Review will make recommendations in each of these areas but will place particular emphasis on initiatives that will reduce the bureaucratic burden on researchers and research teams.

AMS Future of Funding Consultation
For decades, the health research ecosystem in the UK has generated sustained health, social and economic benefits for the people of the UK and the wider world. The COVID-19 pandemic has again given us cause to celebrate the success of the UK’s scientific research and its linkages to industry. However, it has also shone a light on some of the inherent frailties in the current system. The AMS is currently undertaking a review into the UK’s health research sector covering the fundamental understanding of biological processes as well as the ability to translate these into clinical benefits.

University Research & Regional Levelling-up Inquiry
The Higher Education Commission’s inquiry invites stakeholders to respond to its public call for evidence on how the UK can best facilitate the higher education sector’s ongoing role working with business to deliver innovation, economic growth and prosperity throughout the UK

2020

UK Science, Research and Technology Capability and Influence in Global Disease Outbreaks
The Commons’ Science and Technology Committee inquired into the place of UK research, science and technology in the national and global pandemic response, and what lessons should be learned for the future. 

The Physiological Society’s submission to the 2020 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR)
The Government’s Spending Review 2020 (SR20) prioritises funding to support the government’s response to Covid-19, invest in the UK’s recovery from COVID-19 and deliver on manifesto promises 

The Physiological Society’s response to the Commons’ Science & Technology Committee inquiry on a new UK research funding agency
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee inquired formally into the nature and purpose of a new UK “blue skies” research funding agency, which would fund “high risk, high reward science” 

Joint Centre for Ageing Better and The Physiological Society response to ‘Coronavirus lessons learnt’ joint inquiry of the Health and Social Care Committee and the Science & Technology Committee
The Health and Social Care Committee and Science and Technology Committee held a joint inquiry into lessons to be learned from the response to the coronavirus pandemic so far. The two Select Committees jointly conducted evidence sessions examining the impact and effectiveness of action taken by government and the advice it has received. 

The Physiological Society’s response to the R&D roadmap survey
The Government’s Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap sets out the UK’s vision and ambition for science, research and innovation.