Three big asks to Parliament about policy evidence
The public have a right to see the evidence behind policies, and they expect Parliament to seek out and scrutinise claims made in support of legislation. We see conversations in our forums every day where people are looking for the evidence behind the policy decisions that affect their lives.
At the opening of Evidence Week in Parliament on Monday, hundreds of members of the public submitted questions about how MPs and peers are using evidence and whether they’re asking important questions. A recent Ipsos survey found that most people think politicians pay too little attention to evidence.
Our organisations are urging Parliament to make sure policy evidence is shared with the public: 74 per cent of people think it is important the government shows the public all the evidence used to make important policy decisions – but too often consumers see policies that affect the pound in their pocket announced without assurance that the impact has been evaluated. The need to act quickly does not mean government departments can’t also be transparent about the rationale and evidence for decisions – if the evidence is good enough for policymakers to make up their minds, then Parliament and the public should see it too.
We ask Parliament to:
- Insist that the government shares the reasons and evidence behind policies, and be frank about trade-offs and uncertainty
- Use evidence in committee and house decisions, and be clear when decisions are based on values rather than evidence
- Listen to the questions constituents have about evidence, especially when it is used to make policies that are affecting their lives
It was positive to see so many MPs, many new to the House, engaging with researchers and the public during Evidence Week. We thank all the select committee chairs and experts who have been frank about the evidence gaps and the trade-offs that are made when deciding policy.
- Tracey Brown (Director) on behalf of Sense about Science
- Rhiannon Evans (Head of Communications) on behalf of Mumsnet
- Jillian Rolnick (Strategic Partnerships Lead) on behalf of Shout Out UK
