The Sir Patrick Vallance interview

As Chief Scientific Advisor to the government during a pandemic,
Sir Patrick Vallance's calm, clear summaries of the state of our
scientific understanding of the virus were welcomed by many. But
what was going on behind the scenes? In this extended interview
with Jim Al-Khalili on Radio 4's Day of The Scientist, Sir
Patrick opens up and together they explore that trickiest of
relationships - the one between scientists and politicians. How
do we make sure we get evidence-based policy not policy-based
evidence?


Scientists tend to gain prominence during a crisis but the need
for scientific input to government is ever present. And as head
of the new Office for Science and Technology Strategy, based in
the Cabinet Office, Sir Patrick hopes to put science and
technology at the heart of policy making in government. However,
only about 10% of the recent fast stream civil service intake
have a scientific degree. That needs to change, says Sir Patrick.


What science and technology do we need to invest in to deal with
the big science-based challenges ahead, such as achieving carbon
net zero, preserving a diversity of species, and protecting our
privacy and slowing the spread of misinformation online? What
does the UK need to do to capitalise on our scientific expertise
and make Britain the science superpower that the Prime Minister
hopes it will become?


Produced by Anna Buckley.


First broadcast on Tuesday 12 October 2021.