The prime minister’s Council for Science and Technology is the latest public body faced with justifying its existence in a triennial review by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The group, set up in its current form in 1993 to advise the prime minister on science and technology issues, brings together some of the biggest names in research, including the government’s chief scientific adviser. It only costs the government about £250,000 a year to run, which could help to protect it from being cut.
But some commentators have told Research Fortnight that the council produces relatively short and infrequent reports on a remit that is too broad, ranging from education to industrial strategy and smart grids. The group typically meets with the prime minister no more than a few times a year.
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