News story: Dr Patrick Vallance takes up his appointment as Government Chief Scientific Adviser

The role of the GCSA is to advise the Prime Minister and government on all matters related to science and technology and to ensure that policies and decisions are informed by the best scientific evidence and strategic long term thinking.

The GCSA is head of the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) profession and Co-chair of the independent Council for Science and Technology which provides high level advice to the Prime Minister.

Patrick Vallance said:

Harnessing the very best science and technology has never been more important to the UK’s economy, future and citizens. Science and technology have a vital role to play at the heart of policy making and I look forward to working with colleagues to ensure the government has the best possible advice, from the best experts, based on the strongest evidence.

It is essential that we have world class scientists and engineers working in government. Excellence can only be delivered by a diverse and inclusive profession. It will be a key priority for me to ensure we go further to improve representation across the profession.

Before joining the Government Office for Science, Patrick Vallance was President, R&D at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) from 2012. Prior to this, he was Senior Vice President, Medicines Discovery and Development and he joined the company in May 2006 as Head of Drug Discovery.

You can find a full biography for Dr Patrick Vallance at: www.gov.uk/government/people/patrick-vallance



News story: Dr Patrick Vallance takes up his appointment as Government Chief Scientific Adviser

The role of the GCSA is to advise the Prime Minister and government on all matters related to science and technology and to ensure that policies and decisions are informed by the best scientific evidence and strategic long term thinking.

The GCSA is head of the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) profession and Co-chair of the independent Council for Science and Technology which provides high level advice to the Prime Minister.

Patrick Vallance said:

Harnessing the very best science and technology has never been more important to the UK’s economy, future and citizens. Science and technology have a vital role to play at the heart of policy making and I look forward to working with colleagues to ensure the government has the best possible advice, from the best experts, based on the strongest evidence.

It is essential that we have world class scientists and engineers working in government. Excellence can only be delivered by a diverse and inclusive profession. It will be a key priority for me to ensure we go further to improve representation across the profession.

Before joining the Government Office for Science, Patrick Vallance was President, R&D at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) from 2012. Prior to this, he was Senior Vice President, Medicines Discovery and Development and he joined the company in May 2006 as Head of Drug Discovery.

You can find a full biography for Dr Patrick Vallance at: www.gov.uk/government/people/patrick-vallance



News story: Dr Patrick Vallance takes up his appointment as Government Chief Scientific Adviser

The role of the GCSA is to advise the Prime Minister and government on all matters related to science and technology and to ensure that policies and decisions are informed by the best scientific evidence and strategic long term thinking.

The GCSA is head of the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) profession and Co-chair of the independent Council for Science and Technology which provides high level advice to the Prime Minister.

Patrick Vallance said:

Harnessing the very best science and technology has never been more important to the UK’s economy, future and citizens. Science and technology have a vital role to play at the heart of policy making and I look forward to working with colleagues to ensure the government has the best possible advice, from the best experts, based on the strongest evidence.

It is essential that we have world class scientists and engineers working in government. Excellence can only be delivered by a diverse and inclusive profession. It will be a key priority for me to ensure we go further to improve representation across the profession.

Before joining the Government Office for Science, Patrick Vallance was President, R&D at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) from 2012. Prior to this, he was Senior Vice President, Medicines Discovery and Development and he joined the company in May 2006 as Head of Drug Discovery.

You can find a full biography for Dr Patrick Vallance at: www.gov.uk/government/people/patrick-vallance



Community Spirit Action Group meeting tonight #dundeewestend

Details of the next meeting of Community Spirit Action Group taking place tonight – the community group for the “north” part of West End Ward, covering Pentland, Tullideph, Ancrum, Forest Park and the Cleghorn area – all very welcome :



European health costs

I have been asking questions about how much it costs the UK to pay for health treatment for our citizens seeking treatment on the continent, and how much we charge people from other EEA countries for their treatment here.

In 2016/17 the UK received just £66m from charges imposed on the other member states for treatment of their nationals in the UK, whilst they charged us £630 m for the treatment UK citizens received. It is difficult to believe it should be that one sided. It is true a considerable number of UK citizens live in Spain, which charges us £200m for the health treatment they supply, but we also act as host to many people from the continent who also need to visit surgeries or receive treatment. The UK only received £5m from France for the whole year, compared to the £154 m they charged us.

The NHS in 2016/17 identified just £81 m of treatment carried out for people from the rest of the world, and recovered £30.4m in cash.

It does appear that despite the policy that EEA nationals health costs should be recharged to their governments, and non EEA people should be expected to pay for non emergency treatment, there is still some way to go for the system to identify the full amounts and to collect the cash from those who should pay.