https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.88.8

Welcome to ‘Policy Corner’, a new regular feature designed to update our Members on the policy work being carried out by The Physiological Society.

‘Policy’ sounds rather dull, but is vitally important for individual academics, departments and institutions, as well as for the health of physiology as a discipline. Our job is to influence decision-making individuals and bodies, ensuring the voice of physiology is heard. We do this through meetings with government departments and Members of Parliament, submissions to inquiries held by parliamentary select committees, and engagement with other learned societies and professional bodies.

Our work over the last year includes responses to consultations (including a HEFCE consultation about the Research Excellence Framework, and one about commercialization and translation of research), organising an event about new legislation for the use of animals in research, and attending meetings at both the UK and European parliaments.

We want to inform you about developments which will impact on your work, and we’re also hoping that it will place you in a position to become more involved. We want to ensure our policy work represents the interests of our Members, and to utilise the expertise contained within our Membership to inform consultation and inquiry responses.

A lot of policy work, by necessity, is carried out in short timeframes; consultations and inquiries are often launched unexpectedly, with submission deadlines only weeks away. It won’t always be possible to ask for input into these through ‘Policy Corner’, and in this case we will do so through our email newsletter.

Additionally, we are continually gathering names to add to our membership expertise database, allowing us to contact interested Members directly if an issue arises.

If you have any questions about the work we carry out, any of the updates on this page, or to add your details to our database, please don’t hesitate to contact our Policy Manager on policy@ physoc.org

Accreditation of bioscience degrees

The structure of the Society of Biology (SB) accreditation programme has been finalised, with the creation of three broad streams; Molecular Aspects of Bioscience, Ecological and Environmental Sciences, and Whole Organism Biology. A separate accreditation stream will remain for degrees containing a significant in vivo component.

Whilst The Physiological Society is adopting a cautious approach towards accreditation of all bioscience degrees, we have been engaging with SB, helping to develop the criteria.

Sport and Exercise Science and Medicine

In May, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee launched a short inquiry on sport and exercise science and medicine, aiming to better understand if and how public health can be improved as part of the Olympic legacy.

Committee clerks contacted The Society, asking us to recommend academics to participate in a seminar and inviting us to submit a response to the inquiry.

The report produced by the Committee extensively referenced our response, including concerns about there being no obvious lead research council for exercise physiology and sports science.

More information, including The Physiological Society response and Committee Report, can be found on our website, www.physoc.org/our-impact

House of Lords HE in STEM consultation

This July, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee published their report, Higher Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Subjects; the result of an inquiry last year.

The recommendations made by this report are not limited to the widely reported obligatory post-16 maths education, but also include a call for better data collection on the supply and demand of science, technology and mathematics (STEM) graduates, and a proposal to set up an expert group to look at STEM postgraduate provision.

The report also highlighted our concerns about the possible compound effect of various policy reforms on the provision of stand-alone masters degrees.

Our response to the inquiry can be found on www.physoc.org/our-impact

Legislation on the use of animals in research

At the time of writing, the Home Office hasn’t yet released the bill containing the new legislation required to update or replace the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Watch our website for updates.

Can you help us?

The Physiological Society are trying to engage with as many MPs as possible about the use of animals in research, hoping to dispel myths of covering cats with lipstick. We’d like Members who use animals in research to contact their MP and discuss the nature and the benefits of their work, including how it furthers our understanding of how disease mechanisms and biological systems operate, and the development of potential treatments and medicines for both animals and humans.