Policy update
Since the general election, the team has continued to work on aspects of Government policy relevant to the geoscience community
We have also responded to inquiries from Select Committees in both houses of Parliament writes Flo Bullough. Over the summer, we provided evidence on how immigration relates to UK science, engineering and skills. We responded to the Home Office Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) call for evidence on the Review of Tier 2, and the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) survey on immigration - which will inform their work on behalf of the wider science community. We also provided input to a House of Lords Science and Technology Committee inquiry on the relationship between EU membership and UK science.
We responded to the newly appointed Energy and Climate Change Committee’s inquiries on ‘Priorities for Holding Government to Account’ and ‘Investor Confidence in the UK Energy Sector’. We raised the importance of consistent policy regarding Carbon Capture and Storage for meeting the UK’s decarbonisation targets.
We are working with University Geoscience UK on the reform of Geology GCSE and ‘A’ level, as well as proposed changes to Higher Education funding structures, quality assessment and the proposed Teaching Excellence Framework.
We contributed to the work of the Science Council and CaSE on the Science Budget and the November 2015 comprehensive spending review. We were pleased that the Government committed to protecting the £4.7 billion science budget in real terms up to the end of the parliament. Other announcements included departmental cuts of 22% to DECC, 15% to DEFRA and 17% to BIS and the cancellation of the £1bn CCS demonstration competition.
- All Geological Society responses can be found in the policy area of the Society’s website: Consultations