Scientific Advice and Evidence in Emergencies

14 September 2010

Sound scientific advice is important in the wake of national emergencies. Following recent high emergencies such as the swine flu pandemic and the Icelandic volcanic ash eruptions, the Science and Technology Committee announced an inquiry, examining the Government's use of scientific advice and evidence in emergency situations. The inquiry focussed on four different case studies (i) the swine flu pandemic in 2009, (ii) the Icelandic volcanic ash eruptions in 2010, and the potential emergency situations that (iii) solar storms and (iv) cyber attacks could cause.