Voters and researchers head to Parliament to see how politicians are using evidence

Voters and researchers head to Parliament to see how politicians are using evidence

The public has made it clear that they expect MPs to look at the evidence when making decisions[1]. Following a nationwide hunt for the evidence questions people think are most important, Evidence Week in Parliament 2025 will open on 3^rd November with constituents all over the UK in the driving seat in a reverse committee hearing, asking MPs about subjects, including electric vehicles, new drugs and working out tax.

Throughout the week, MPs are signed up to quickfire briefings from leading research institutions on many of those subjects, to get familiar with new findings and learn more about interrogating data– from cancer screening to hidden water pollution.

Tracey Brown, director of Sense about Science, said:

“Politicians don’t need to be scientists, but to be effective politicians in a world of major challenges, radical innovation and data, they clearly need to know science. They need to be ready to evaluate evidence critically, and as broadly as data on free school meals to methods for carbon capture.

“Researchers are stepping forward to help meet that challenge over Evidence Week in Parliament, and constituents are urging their MPs to find ten minutes in their busy schedules to get briefed on national and local issues.”

Voters from across the UK will also get the chance to question the chairs of Parliament’s Select Committees about the evidence behind policies. In a unique ‘reverse’ committee hearing, senior MPs will take the hot seat to address the public’s concerns, including:

• If government uses AI to allocate services, how can MPs question those decisions?
• Are MPs aware of the evidence that smartphones and social media have a negative effect on children’s wellbeing?
• How do we ensure MPs quickly correct misleading information if an error is made when citing evidence?

The public’s questions were collected by the Sense about Science and community groups including Mumsnet, MoneySavingExpert and Shout Out UK.

Rhiannon Evans, Head of Communications at Mumsnet, said:

“Taking part in Evidence Week is a great way to raise Mumsnset users’ concerns about evidence-based policy making with MPs - on everything from healthcare to restorative justice”

Voters will question the following Select Committees: Chi Onwurah MP (Chair, Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee), Bill Esterson MP (Chair, Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee), the Rt Hon. Lord Rooker (Lords Environment and Climate Committee), Karen Bradley MP (Chair, Home Affairs Select Committee), Debbie Abrahams MP (Chair, Work and Pensions Committee), Antonia Bance MP (Business and Trade Select Committee), Caroline Dinenage MP (Chair, Culture, Media and Sports Select Committee), Florence Eshalomi MP (Chair, Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee),  Helen Hayes MP (Chair, Education Committee), and Anna Dixon MP (Public Accounts Committee), and get advice from national experts, including Professor Sir Ian Chapman, CEO of UKRI, Ed Humpherson, Director General for Regulation, Office for National Statistics and Grant Hill-Cawthorne, the House of Commons Librarian, on how information is provided to government and parliament.

To attend Evidence Week, interviews or for further details please contact:

Valentina Moya, Sense about Science: valentina@senseaboutscience.org 07482972135

EvidenceWeek@senseaboutscience.org 07355 238071

Notes for editors

[1] 74% think it is important the government shows the public all the evidence used to make important policy decisions (April 2024 Ipsos survey, up from 66% in 2023 and 61% in 2022); https://senseaboutscience.org/ipsos-sense-about-science-evidence-transparency-2024-survey/

Evidence Week in Parliament 2025 is organised by Sense about Science in partnership with Mumsnet, MoneySavingExpert, Shout Out UK, the UK Statistics Authority, community partners and research institutions across the UK.

https://senseaboutscience.org/evidence-week/programme-pdf/

Researchers from across the UK will give individual quickfire briefings to MPs and peers to help them get up to speed on current issues: https://senseaboutscience.org/evidence-week/event/policy-briefings/

Parliamentary staff are given training by ONS, Ipsos,  House of Commons Library, FullFact and others: https://senseaboutscience.org/evidence-week/event/parliamentary-training-sessions/

Evidence Week was launched in 2018 response to the public’s interest in policy evidence, with community groups and individuals wanting to know the justification for everything from rules on standing at football matches to which green technologies are subsidised. It builds on established research and information work in Parliament by POST and the Commons and Lords Libraries to support greater use of evidence by parliamentarians, and has since been emulated in other Parliaments including the EU.

https://senseaboutscience.org/evidence-week/

Sense about Science is an independent charity that works to ensure the public interest in sound science and evidence is recognised in public life. A small team working with thousands of supporters, from world leading researchers to community groups, we focus on socially and scientifically difficult issues where evidence is neglected, politicised or misleading. https://senseaboutscience.org/

Mumsnet is the UK’s biggest network for parents, with around 9 million unique visitors per month clocking up around 100 million page views. Mumsnet aims to make parents' lives easier by pooling knowledge, advice and support. https://www.mumsnet.com/

MoneySavingExpert Founded and chaired by Martin Lewis, is dedicated to cutting consumers’ bills and fighting their corner. For 20 years, campaigning journalism has been at the heart of MSE’s mission and its consumer finance help aims to show people how to save money on anything and everything. MSE ranks as YouGov’s most recommended brand across all sectors in the UK and is also, according to Press Gazette, the UK’s largest specialist online news publication, with more traffic than many national newspaper sites. More than 9 million people opt-in to receive the weekly MSE’s Money Tips email, and 10.3 million unique monthly site users visit the site 20 million times a month, including the MSE Forum, which has more than two million registered users. In September 2012, the site joined the MoneySupermarket.com Group PLC (now known as the MONY Group plc). https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

Shout Out UK (SOUK) is a social enterprise on a mission to ensure that political and media literacy education is available to everyone, regardless of their socio-economic background, ethnicity, or gender and safeguard democracy and our rights for generations to come. We have worked with young people across the UK, ensuring they develop critical thinking skills, analytical abilities and confidence, empowering them to be democratically engaged and informed citizens. https://www.shoutoutuk.org/