Updated on: 2020-03-31
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| Q1A. What arrangements, if any, do you have in place to ensure scientific advice informs national policy and decision making in relation to Covid-19? | UK Government decisions both nationally and in the devolved administrations are guided by advice from the Chief Medical Officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and from the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, and from other experts. The UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) provides scientific and technical advice to support senior government decision makers during emergencies. SAGE is chaired by the government Chief Scientific Advisor and co-chaired by the government Chief Medical Officer during health-related emergencies (https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/sci...). SAGE is responsible for ensuring that coordinated scientific advice is provided to Ministers in the Government emergency committee (COBR). SAGE advice is fed into COBR through the Civil Contingencies Secretariat in the Cabinet Office, alongside advice on the social, economic, operational and policy considerations. The Government Chief Scientific Adviser and Chief Medical Officer attend COBR as required. SAGE relies on external science advice and on advice from expert groups. During COVID-19 this includes the: New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG); Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) (Department for Health and Social Care); Independent Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B). Additional useful links: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coron... https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/sci... |
| Q1B. In what ways, if any, are you coordinating on Covid-19 STI responses at international level? | The Prime Minister has highlighted the need for ongoing international cooperation, particularly through the G20, to share expertise, support the global economic system and strengthen the ability of vulnerable countries to tackle the virus. He has stressed the need to support the WHO’s appeal and support vaccine development through the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. The UK has also pursued bilateral coordination. An example was the joint statement on 12 March by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Natural Science Foundation (NSFC) of China highlighting their shared commitment to strengthening global collaborations and encouraging openness and data sharing to help ensure diagnostics, vaccines and prevention measures are developed rapidly for the benefit of every nation. https://www.ukri.org/news/openness-and-c... |
| Q2.Do you have dedicated arrangements in place for communicating science advice and for refuting misleading information to the public on Covid-19? | The Government is promoting advice on Covid-19 through websites such as https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus and https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronaviru... and has launched a Coronavirus Information Service on WhatsApp. The Government texted all mobile phone users across the UK to inform them of new rules announced by the Prime Minister, having previously sent text messages to the vulnerable as part of a shielding package. UKRI has launched a new website for anyone interested in the science of COVID-19. CORONAVIRUS – THE SCIENCE EXPLAINED provides authoritative and up-to-date explanations of the scientific evidence behind the COVID-19 pandemic. Developed with the support of the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, and Chief Medical Adviser, Professor Chris Whitty, the articles have been curated by a team of research scientists working in coronavirus, virus and relevant related fields at the Universities of Oxford, Glasgow and Edinburgh, Imperial College London, King’s College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Topics include evidence and facts about the virus, information on how people are infected and the treatment options. The site will start small and the intention is to rapidly populate it with further articles. Researchers from UKRI’s GCRF Accelerating Achievement for Africa’s Adolescents (Accelerate) Hub have joined forces with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and others to produce evidence-based tips for parents covering aspects such as planning one-on-one time, staying positive, creating a daily routine, avoiding bad behaviour, managing stress, and talking about COVID-19. The set of six one-page parenting tips are available from WHO and UNICEF. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lance... |
| Q3. What new STI policy measures, if any, is your country taking to respond specifically to the Covid-19 crisis? | In February, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) funded a £20m a rapid research call through relevant bodies such as the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), to complement £20m funding announced by the Health Secretary, which will go to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. So far this has led to six new studies into the novel coronavirus, including testing a vaccine, developing therapies and improving understanding of how to treat COVID-19 (see: https://mrc.ukri.org/news/browse/covid-1...), while the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium will map how COVID-19 spreads and behaves by using whole genome sequencing (see: https://mrc.ukri.org/news/browse/uk-laun...). The race to find a vaccine for coronavirus will be boosted by £210m of new UK aid funding, following a virtual summit of G20 leaders for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations for international research on vaccines (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-an...). UKRI is continuing significant discussions across industry, government, and academia to identify new ways to utilise existing research and innovation capabilities to tackle the crisis. On the 31st March UKRI launched a website to invite the submission of proposals for short term projects addressing and mitigating the health, social, economic and environmental impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. There is no closing date – proposals can be submitted at any time. UKRI will support excellent proposals of up to 18 months duration which meet at least one of the following: • New research or innovation with a clear impact pathway that has the potential (within the period of the award) to deliver a significant contribution to the understanding of, and response to, the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts. • Supports the manufacture and/or wide scale adoption of an intervention with significant potential. • Gathers critical data and resources quickly for future research use. |
| Q4A. At national level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? | The UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) provides scientific and technical advice to support senior government decision makers during emergencies. SAGE relies on external science advice and on advice from expert groups. During COVID-19 this includes the: New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG); Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) (Department for Health and Social Care); and the Independent Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B). These groups consider the scientific evidence and provide their consensus conclusions to SAGE. Their consensus statements have been published. (https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/sci...). |
| Q4B. At international level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? | The Prime Minister has highlighted the need for ongoing international cooperation, particularly through the G20, to share expertise, support the global economic system and strengthen the ability of vulnerable countries to tackle the virus. He has stressed the need to support the WHO’s appeal and support vaccine development through the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. [additional information to follow] |
| Q5. What novel approaches, if any, is your country using to address the coronavirus crisis (e.g. use of machine learning, open science initiatives boosting access and sharing of data and research results, development and use of prediction models, etc.)? | [See survey responses to questions 2, 3, 6B, and 7] |
| Q6A. What impact on the STI system do you anticipate in the short-, medium- and long-term, and what measures are you implementing to address those? | Minister Amanda Solloway has written (Monday 23 March) to all Higher Education Institutions and other research institutions on the work currently being carried out across the research sector. See https://www.ukri.org/files/news/science-... UK Research and Investment (UKRI) is providing wider advice to researchers and research institutions about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on them and their work. https://www.ukri.org/news/coronavirus-im... A coordination group involving the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), UKRI, the Department for Education (DfE), the Office for Students (OfS) and others to gather evidence and intelligence on the financial and delivery impact on research of the pandemic. |
| Q6B. Is support of the STI system part of planned stimulus packages aimed at supporting the economy? | On 11 March, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out plans in his annual Budget to increase public R&D investment to £22 billion per year by 2024-25. The government will invest that money in the people, ideas and industries that will cement the UK’s world-leading position in science and technologies ranging from nuclear fusion to electric vehicles and life sciences. This landmark investment is the largest and fastest ever expansion in support of researchers and innovative businesses in the UK, taking direct support for R&D to 0.8% of GDP and placing the UK among the top quarter of OECD nations (see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...). In his speech, he said this was part of making the right long-term decisions for the UK’s economic security and prosperity. In the short-term, he said that next year funding will grow by 15%, the fastest year-on-year growth on record (see: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/b...). |
| Q7. Is there anything else regarding the STI policy response to Covid-19 in your country you would like to mention? | Many issues around the coronavirus response relate to behaviour. During the 2009/10 ‘swine flu’ pandemic, SAGE received advice from a subgroup called the Scientific Pandemic Influenza group on Behaviour and Communications (SPI-B&C). On 13 February 2020, SAGE decided to reconvene this group, limiting its remit to behaviour (SPI-B). SPI-B is not asked to comment, and has not commented, on what interventions are effective or when they should be triggered. Instead, the group is asked to provide advice aimed at anticipating and helping people adhere to interventions that are recommended by medical or epidemiological experts. Participants change depending on the topic under consideration. Input has been received from academic specialists in Health Psychology, Social Psychology, Anthropology and History. Experts from Government departments also attend to provide input and to discuss issues they are facing. The above summary is taken from ‘The role of behavioural science in the coronavirus outbreak’ (14 March 2020), which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/sci... |