§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh) on 20 March 2002,Official Report, column 438, what the membership is of the Advisory Group on Radiation, Risk and Society; what the (a) terms of reference, and (b) criteria for the choice of members are; and if he will make a statement on what guidelines individual members of the group have been given on (i) disclosing proceedings and ii) publishing material subsequently, that relates to the advisory group. [49689]
§ Yvette CooperThe National Radiological Protection Board's Radiation, Risk and Society Advisory Group (R,RSAG) was set up by NRPB in 2001. The R,RSAG is an independent advisory group that reports to the board of NRPB whose minutes are published on the NRPB website (www.nrpb.org). R,RSAG membership and terms of 117W reference are set out. Members have been drawn from a number of academic disciplines. Criteria for membership are academic experience in how to explain risk in general and radiological risk in particular to the public and a willingness to serve. The constraints on membership are the need for a group that is not too big to allow views to be debated adequately and the need for several academic disciplines to be represented.
The group has discussed disclosure of its proceedings. It was agreed that the group's considerations and discussions would remain confidential until an agreed position was ready to be made public. Papers and reports from the group would be published but would not be released during the drafting process. Minutes of meetings would be published on the web.
- Radiation, Risk and Society Advisory Group
- Membership
- Chairman
- Professor Sir Kenneth Calman, University of Durham
- Members
- Professor Ruth Byrne, Trinity College, Dublin
- Ms Deborah Cohen, BBC
- Professor William Gelletly, University of Surrey
- Mr. Edward McConnell, The Marlborough School
- Professor Jim McQuaid, Royal Academy of Engineering
- Dr. Michael Murphy, University of Oxford
- Professor Nick Pidgeon, University of East Anglia
- Professor Simon Wessely, Institute of Psychiatry
- Dr. Hilary Walker, Department of Health, also attends by invitation.
- Secretariat
- Mr. John Croft, National Radiological Protection Board, Chilton
- Dr. Roy Hamlet, National Radiological Protection Board, Chilton
- Dr. Jill Meara, National Radiological Protection Board, Chilton
- Terms of Reference
The assessment, on a continuing basis, of what the public wants to know about radiation, risk, arid how society will be affected by such issues. It will do this byListening to the public and understanding their concerns. The telephone inquiries are a rich source of such information. This would include meeting with the public and pressure groups.Providing education and information on radiation and risk.Ensuring that the public know how decisions are made in NRPB, including the role of scientific experts, and public involvement.Enabling the public to understand and be involved in decisions involving radiation hazards.Raising awareness of NRPBMaking the findings and recommendations from the work of R,RSAG widely available within NRPB and to other organisations.