Candidate for Chair of the Medical Research Council announced
The current MRC Chair Sir John Chisholm steps down at the end of September. The House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee will…
The current MRC Chair Sir John Chisholm steps down at the end of September.
The House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee will hold a pre-appointment hearing on 11 July and report on Donald Brydon’s suitability for this post.
Notes to editors
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The Medical Research Council (MRC) was established by Royal Charter in 1920 and is funded through its sponsor the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The MRC’s funding allocation for 2011-12 is over £615m. In 2011-12 the MRC will employ the equivalent of approximately 3000 full-time staff. Based in central London and Swindon, the MRC is dedicated to improving human health through world-class medical research. It supports research across the biomedical spectrum, from fundamental lab-based science to clinical trials, and in all major disease areas. The Council works closely with the NHS, the UK Health Departments, the other UK Research Councils, the biomedical community and other stakeholders to identify and respond to the UK’s health needs. It gives a high priority to research that is likely to make a real difference to clinical practice and the health of the population. For further information on the MRC see www.mrc.ac.uk.
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Pre-appointment scrutiny hearings enable Select Committees to take evidence from candidates for certain key public appointments before they are appointed. Hearings are in public and involve the Select Committee publishing a report setting out their views on the candidate’s suitability for a post. Pre-appointment hearings are non-binding but Ministers will consider the Committee’s views before deciding whether to proceed with the appointment.
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The Chairs of the all of the Research Councils
are listed as posts suitable for pre-appointment hearings. That list was published in the Government’s Response to the Liaison Committee’s First Special Report of Session 2007-08 (Liaison Committee, First Special Report of Session 2007-08, Pre-appointment hearings by Select Committees: Government Response, HC 594).
- The Government’s economic policy objective is to achieve ‘strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries.’ It set four ambitions in the ‘Plan for Growth’ (PDF 1.7MB), published at Budget 2011:
• To create the most competitive tax system in the G20
• To make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business
• To encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy
• To create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe.
Work is underway across Government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the Government wants the economy to travel.
- BIS’s online newsroom contains the latest press notices and speeches, as well as video and images for download. It also features an up to date list of BIS press office contacts. See http://www.bis.gov.uk/newsroom for more information.
Notes to Editors
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