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The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) is a
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body that advises central government in emergencies. It is usually chaired by the United Kingdom's Chief Scientific Adviser, currently Sir Patrick Vallance. Specialists from academia and industry, along with experts from within government, make up the participation, which will vary depending on the emergency. SAGE gained public prominence for its role in the 2020
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confirm ...
.


History

In the aftermath of the
United Kingdom BSE outbreak The United Kingdom was afflicted with an outbreak of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, also known as "mad cow disease"), and its human equivalent variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD), in the 1980s and 1990s. Over four million head of c ...
, "the then Government Chief Scientific Adviser ( Lord May) published ''Guidelines on the Use of Scientific Advice in Policy-Making''; these have subsequently been revised, most recently in June 2010... The Government
ater Ater (Hebrew אֲתַר) is an Old Testament male name. #A descendant of Hezekiah, who returned from Babylon ; #An Israelite, who subscribed to Nehemiah Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in reb ...
developed the ''Principles of Scientific Advice to Government'', which 'set out the rules of engagement between Government and those who provide independent scientific and engineering advice.' The Principles apply to 'Ministers and Government departments, all members of Scientific Advisory Committees and Councils ..and other independent scientific and engineering advice to Government.' They detail principles related to roles and responsibilities, independence and transparency and openness." The May advice was updated in May 2011 in a document entitled ''Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees'' (CoPSAC 2011). "In an emergency where scientific or technical advice is required to aid the emergency response, the Government may decide that a" SAGE "is required; this decision can either be made by the Lead Government Department (LGD) or the
Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
in consultation with the
Government Office for Science The Government Office for Science is an science advisory group that is part of the British government. The organisation advises the UK Government on policy and decision-making based on science and long-term thinking. It is led by the Government ...
. SAGE is usually chaired by the
Government Chief Scientific Adviser The UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) is the personal adviser on science and technology-related activities and policies to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet; and head of the Government Office for Science. The Chief Scientific Adv ...
... Each SAGE is emergency-specific. The
swine flu pandemic The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1 influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, is the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918–1920 Span ...
was the first emergency where the SAGE mechanism was used;
volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...
was the second." SAGE has advised the government on a number of events, including: * the
2009 flu pandemic The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1 influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, is the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918–1920 Span ...
* the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull * the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident * the 2013–14 United Kingdom winter floods (3 meetings) * the
2014 Ebola outbreak Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...
(3 meetings) * the 2015 Nepal earthquake (1 meeting) * the
2015–16 Zika virus epidemic An epidemic of Zika fever, caused by Zika virus, began in Brazil and affected other countries in the Americas from April 2015 to November 2016. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the epidemic in November 2016, but noted t ...
(5 meetings) * the 2018-9 Ebola outbreak (3 meetings) * the potential catastrophic breach of
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in 2019 (1 meeting) * the COVID-19 pandemic (at least 105 meetings)


Structure and function

SAGE was reported in July 2020 to consist of around 20 participants at any one given time. Participants are drawn from both academia and practice, and the participants of a particular meeting are decided upon by the British
Government Chief Scientific Adviser The UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) is the personal adviser on science and technology-related activities and policies to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet; and head of the Government Office for Science. The Chief Scientific Adv ...
and the Chief Medical Officer for England, depending on the expertise required. They are not generally employed by government. They do not operate under government instruction. In addition to these participants, SAGE is also attended by officials from relevant parts of government and arm's-length bodies who may contribute to discussions with relevant expertise, for instance, the UK Health Security Agency and the Chief Scientific Advisers to government departments. The government does not have to act upon the conclusions of SAGE, and other bodies, including other sources of scientific advice, feed in to government's decisions. Only the Chief Scientific Adviser and
Chief Medical Officer Chief medical officer (CMO) is the title used in many countries for the senior government official designated head of medical services, sometimes at the national level. The post is held by a physician who serves to advise and lead a team of medical ...
may speak on behalf of SAGE. In 2020, the UK Government carried out a review of SAGE's structure in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sub-committees can be delegated by SAGE to study particular issues. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these were: *Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (SPI-B) *Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) and its the Operational sub-group (SPI-M-O); the sub-group was awarded the
Weldon Memorial Prize The Weldon Memorial Prize, also known as the Weldon Memorial Prize and Medal, is given yearly by the University of Oxford. The prize is to be awarded without regard to nationality or membership of any University to the person who, in the judgeme ...
in 2022 for its work in the COVID-19 pandemic *PHE Serology Working Group *COVID-19 Clinical Information Network (CO-CIN) *Environmental Modelling Group (EMG) *Children’s Task and Finish Working Group (TFC) *Hospital Onset COVID-19 Working Group (HOCI) *Ethnicity Subgroup *Social Care Working Group (SCWG)


COVID-19

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has seen an expanded role for and greater attention paid to SAGE. Although not prohibited, until the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, it is believed that political advisors had never attended SAGE meetings in any capacity nor is there evidence for
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...
officials attending these meetings too. It was reported that Dominic Cummings and Ben Warner had attended COVID-19 meetings. Their attendance and participation was widely criticised, in particular by other attendees "shocked, concerned and worried for the impartiality of advice". Early in the pandemic, in April 2020, SAGE was criticised for a lack of transparency. For their security and safety, and on advice from the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, the list of current members was not disclosed, although members could, and many did, reveal their own membership. Chris Whitty, speaking to the
Health and Social Care Select Committee The Health and Social Care Select Committee (abbreviated to HSC, HSCC and HSCSC) is a Departmental Select Committee of the British House of Commons, the lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament. Its remit is to examine the policy, administr ...
regarding the COVID-19 meetings of SAGE and the anonymity of its members, said that SAGE was "given quite clear advice from the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, basically based on the fact that SAGE is a sub-committee of COBRA". Patrick Vallance argued in a letter to Parliament that scientists were protected by the anonymity from "lobbying and other forms of unwanted influence". Membership of SAGE and its subcommittees was published on 4 May 2020. A register of participants' interests was first published in December 2020.


Participants


April 2020

A report in '' The Guardian'' stated that attendees at an April 2020 meeting of the group included: Senior advisers: * Sir Patrick Vallance, Chief Scientific Adviser (chair) * Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Adviser Medical and scientific experts: * Professor John Aston, statistician, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Home Office * Dr Meera Chand, microbiologist * Sir
Ian Diamond Sir Ian David Diamond (born 14 March 1954) is a British statistician, academic, and administrator, who served as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen until 2018. He became the UK's National Statistician in October 2019. ...
,
National Statistician The National Statistician is the Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, and the Head of the UK Government Statistical Service. The office was created by the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The UK Statistics Authority announced ...
* Professor John Edmunds, epidemiologist * Sir
Jeremy Farrar Sir Jeremy James Farrar (born 1 September 1961) is a British medical researcher who has served as director of the Wellcome Trust since 2013 and will serve as chief scientist at the World Health Organization in 2023. He was previously a professo ...
, medical researcher * Professor Neil Ferguson, epidemiologist * Professor
Peter Horby Sir Peter William Horby is a British physician, epidemiologist, Moh Family Foundation Professor of Emerging Infections and Global Health, and Director of the Pandemic Sciences Institute at the University of Oxford. He is the founder, and former ...
, epidemiologist * Professor
Angela McLean Angela McLean (born August 19, 1970) is an American politician and educator who served as the 35th Lieutenant Governor of Montana from February 10, 2014, to January 3, 2016. Governor Steve Bullock, a Democrat, selected McLean in 2014 to replac ...
, mathematical biologist * Professor Graham Medley, epidemiologist * Dr Edward Mullins, clinical adviser * Professor Sharon Peacock, microbiologist * Professor
Stephen Powis Sir Stephen Huw Powis is national medical director for England, in the National Health Service (NHS), appointed at the start of 2018 to succeed Sir Bruce Keogh. He is also a professor of renal medicine at University College London. Family an ...
, national medical director for England * Professor Andrew Rambaut, molecular biologist * Emma Reed, emergency planner * Professor Brooke Rogers, social psychologist * Dr James Rubin, psychologist * Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, influenza specialist, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England * Professor Charlotte Watts, epidemiologist, Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department for International Development * Professor Maria Zambon, virologist Political advisers: * Dominic Cummings * Dr Ben Warner, data scientist Vallance has written that SAGE includes scientists and experts from more than twenty separate institutions. SAGE also contains four expert groups which may each have as low as five and as many as over forty members. Dominic Cummings was confirmed by
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...
to have attended a 23 March meeting, but the government said Cummings was not a member of SAGE. The attendance and participation by Prime Ministerial advisors caused much criticism. It was reported that one participant considered that Cummings' interventions had sometimes inappropriately influenced what is supposed to be an impartial scientific process; another expressed shock when Cummings first began participating in SAGE discussions, in February, viewing this as unwanted political influence on what should be "unadulterated scientific data".


May 2020

In May 2020, Professor Neil Ferguson resigned from SAGE after
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
revealed he had violated lockdown rules to meet with a partner. The same day of his resignation, a list of SAGE participants was published by the UK Government, 4 May 2020. However, it notes that: "Permission to publish names was requested from all participants. Those who did not give permission have not been named." In addition: "These meetings are also regularly attended by officials from Her Majesty’s Government. These attendees have not been named." No reason for the secrecy is provided. Two attendees did not give permission to be named. Attendees as of May 2020 included: * Sir Patrick Vallance, Government Chief Scientific Adviser * Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer (England) and Chief Scientific Adviser, Department of Health and Social Care * Professor John Aston, Chief Scientific Adviser, Home Office * Professor
Wendy Barclay Wendy Sue Fox (née Barclay) is a British virologist. She is currently head of Department of Infectious Disease and Chair in Influenza Virology at Imperial College London. She leads a team of scientists studying the influenza virus and its phys ...
, Imperial College London * Professor Phil Blythe, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Transport * Professor Sir Ian Boyd, University of St Andrews * Professor Andrew Curran, Chief Scientific Adviser, Health and Safety Executive * Dr Gavin Debrera, Public Health England * Professor Sir Ian Diamond, National Statistician, Office for National Statistics * Professor Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director, Public Health England * Professor John Edmunds, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine * Professor Sir
Jeremy Farrar Sir Jeremy James Farrar (born 1 September 1961) is a British medical researcher who has served as director of the Wellcome Trust since 2013 and will serve as chief scientist at the World Health Organization in 2023. He was previously a professo ...
, Director, Wellcome Trust * Dr Aidan Fowler, National Health Service England * Professor Julia Gog, University of Cambridge * Dr David Halpern, Behavioural Insights Team, Cabinet Office * Dr Jenny Harries, Deputy Chief Medical Officer * Dr
Demis Hassabis Demis Hassabis (born 27 July 1976) is a British artificial intelligence researcher and entrepreneur. In his early career he was a video game AI programmer and designer, and an expert player of board games. He is the chief executive officer and ...
, Personal capacity as a data scientist * Professor
Peter Horby Sir Peter William Horby is a British physician, epidemiologist, Moh Family Foundation Professor of Emerging Infections and Global Health, and Director of the Pandemic Sciences Institute at the University of Oxford. He is the founder, and former ...
, University of Oxford * Dr Indra Joshi, NHSX * Professor Dame Theresa Marteau, University of Cambridge * Professor Dame
Angela McLean Angela McLean (born August 19, 1970) is an American politician and educator who served as the 35th Lieutenant Governor of Montana from February 10, 2014, to January 3, 2016. Governor Steve Bullock, a Democrat, selected McLean in 2014 to replac ...
, Chief Scientific Adviser, Ministry of Defence * Professor Graham Medley, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine * Professor Andrew Morris, University of Edinburgh * Professor Carole Mundell, Chief Scientific Adviser, Foreign and Commonwealth Office * Professor Catherine Noakes, University of Leeds * Dr Rob Orford, Welsh Government * Professor Michael Parker, University of Oxford * Professor Sharon Peacock, Public Health England * Professor Alan Penn, Chief Scientific Adviser, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government * Professor Stephen Powis, National Health Service England * Dr Mike Prentice, National Health Service England * Mr Osama Rahman, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Education * Professor
Venki Ramakrishnan Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (born 1952) is an Indian-born British and American structural biologist who shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada Yonath, "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome". ...
, ex-officio as Chair of DELVE, convened by the Royal Society * Professor Andrew Rambaut, University of Edinburgh * Professor Tom Rodden, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport * Professor Brooke Rogers, King's College London * Dr James Rubin, King's College London * Professor Calum Semple, University of Liverpool * Dr Mike Short, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for International Trade * Dr Gregor Smith, Scottish Government, Chief Medical Officer * Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, University of Cambridge * Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer * Professor Russell Viner, University College London * Professor Charlotte Watts, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for International Development * Professor Mark Walport, UK Research and Innovation * Professor Mark Woolhouse, University of Edinburgh * Professor Lucy Yardley, University of Bristol * Professor Ian Young, Northern Ireland Executive * Professor Maria Zambon, Public Health England


July 2020

In July 2020, the participants list was updated to reflect recent meetings. Professor Neil Ferguson was featured on the list. As of 19 November, the list remains unchanged and includes: * Sir Patrick Vallance FMedSci FRS, Government Chief Scientific Adviser * Professor Chris Whitty CB FMedSci, Chief Medical Officer (England) and Chief Scientific Adviser, Department of Health and Social Care * Professor Rebecca Allen, University of Oxford * Professor John Aston, Chief Scientific Adviser, Home Office * Professor Charles Bangham Imperial College London * Professor
Wendy Barclay Wendy Sue Fox (née Barclay) is a British virologist. She is currently head of Department of Infectious Disease and Chair in Influenza Virology at Imperial College London. She leads a team of scientists studying the influenza virus and its phys ...
FMedSci Imperial College London * Professor Jonathan Benger UWE Bristol * Fliss Bennee, Welsh Government * Mr Allan Bennett, Public Health England * Professor Phil Blythe, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Transport * Professor Chris Bonnell, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine * Professor Sir Ian Boyd FRSE, University of St Andrews * Professor Peter Bruce, University of Oxford * Caroline Cake, HDR-UK * Professor Andrew Curran, Chief Scientific Adviser, Health and Safety Executive * Professor Paul Cosford, Public Health England * Dr Gavin Dabrera, Public Health England * Professor Sir Ian Diamond FRSE FBA, National Statistician, Office for National Statistics * Professor Yvonne Doyle CB, Medical Director, Public Health England * Professor Deborah Dunn-Walters,
University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institutio ...
* Professor John Edmunds OBE FMedSci, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine * Professor Sir
Jeremy Farrar Sir Jeremy James Farrar (born 1 September 1961) is a British medical researcher who has served as director of the Wellcome Trust since 2013 and will serve as chief scientist at the World Health Organization in 2023. He was previously a professo ...
FMedSci FRS, Director, Wellcome Trust * Professor Michael Ferguson, University of Dundee * Professor Neil Ferguson OBE FMedSci, Imperial College London * Professor Kevin Fenton, Public Health England * Dr Aidan Fowler FRCS, National Health Service England * Professor Julia Gog, University of Cambridge * Professor Robin Grimes, Chief Scientific Adviser, Ministry of Defence * Dr Ian Hall, University of Manchester * Dr David Halpern, Behavioural Insights Team, Cabinet Office * Dido Harding, NHSI * Dr Jenny Harries OBE, Deputy Chief Medical Officer * Dr
Demis Hassabis Demis Hassabis (born 27 July 1976) is a British artificial intelligence researcher and entrepreneur. In his early career he was a video game AI programmer and designer, and an expert player of board games. He is the chief executive officer and ...
FRS, Personal capacity as a data scientist * Professor Andrew Hayward, UCL * Professor Gideon Henderson, Chief Scientific Adviser, Defra * Professor Peter Horby, University of Oxford * Professor Anne Johnson, UCL * Dr Indra Joshi, NHSx * Dr Vittal Katikireddi, University of Glasgow * Dr Ben Killingley, UCLH * Professor David Lalloo, Liverpool School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine * Professor Janet Lord, University of Birmingham * Professor Dame Theresa Marteau FMedSci, University of Cambridge * Professor Dame
Angela McLean Angela McLean (born August 19, 1970) is an American politician and educator who served as the 35th Lieutenant Governor of Montana from February 10, 2014, to January 3, 2016. Governor Steve Bullock, a Democrat, selected McLean in 2014 to replac ...
FRS, Chief Scientific Adviser, Ministry of Defence * Dr Jim McMenamin, Health Protection Scotland * Professor Graham Medley, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine * Dr Laura Merson, University of Oxford * Professor Susan Michie FAcSS FMedSci, University College London * Professor Christine Middlemiss, Chief Veterinary Officer * Professor Andrew Morris FMedSci FRSE, University of Edinburgh * Professor Paul Moss, University of Birmingham * Professor Carole Mundell, Chief Scientific Adviser, Foreign and Commonwealth Office * Professor Catherine Noakes, University of Leeds * Dr Rob Orford, Welsh Government * Professor Michael Parker, University of Oxford * Professor Sharon Peacock FMedSci, Public Health England * Professor Alan Penn, Chief Scientific Adviser, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government * Dr Pasi Penttinen, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control * Professor Guy Poppy, Chief Scientific Adviser, Food Standards Agency * Professor Steve Powis FRCP, National Health Service England * Dr Mike Prentice, National Health Service England * Mr Osama Rahman, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Education * Professor Venki Ramakrishnan PRS, Ex Officio as Chair of DELVE, convened by the Royal Society * Professor Andrew Rambaut FRSE, University of Edinburgh * Professor Tom Rodden, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport * Professor Brooke Rogers OBE, King's College London * Dr Cathy Roth, Department for International Development * David Seymour, HDR-UK * Professor Sheila Rowan MBE FRS FRSE, Chief Scientific Adviser, Scotland * Alaster Smith, Department for Education * Professor Iyiola Solanke, University of Leeds * Dr Nicola Steedman, Scottish Government * Dr James Rubin, King's College London * Professor Calum Semple, University of Liverpool * Dr Mike Short CBE, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for International Trade * Dr Gregor Smith, Scottish Government Chief Medical Officer * Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter FRS, University of Cambridge * Professor Jonathan Van Tam MBE, Deputy Chief Medical Officer * Professor Russell Viner PRCPCH, University College London * Professor Charlotte Watts CMG FMedSci, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for International Development * Dr Rhoswyn Walker, HDR-UK * Professor Sir Mark Walport FRCP FMedSci FRS, UK Research and Innovation * Professor Mark Wilcox, University of Leeds * Professor Lucy Yardley FAcSS, University of Bristol and University of Southampton * Professor Ian Young, Northern Ireland Executive * Professor Maria Zambon FMedSci, Public Health England


March 2021

The following were included on the minutes of a 11 March meeting: Scientific experts: *Patrick Vallance (GCSA) *Chris Whitty (CMO) *Angela McLean (MOD) *Calum Semple (Liverpool) *Catherine Noakes (Leeds) *Charlotte Deane (UKRI) *Charlotte Watts (FCDO CSA) *Chris Dye (Royal Society) *Chris Savoury (DHSC) *Clare Gardiner (DHSC) *Colin Humphreys (Queen Mary) *David Crossman (Scotland) *Derek Smith (Cambridge) *Fliss Bennee (Wales) *Graham Medley (LSHTM) *Harry Rutter (Bath) *Ian Boyd (St Andrews) *Ian Diamond (ONS) *James Rubin (KCL) *Jeanelle de Gruchy (ADPH) *Jenny Harries (DHSC) *Jeremy Farrar (Wellcome) *John Edmunds (LSHTM) *
Kamlesh Khunti Kamlesh Khunti is a British physician who is Professor of Primary Care Diabetes and Vascular Medicine at the University of Leicester. His research considers diabetes and public health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Khunti studied the impact of ...
(Leicester) * Linda Partridge (Royal Society) *Lucy Yardley (Bristol/Southampton) *Maria Zambon (PHE) *Mark Walport (UKRI) *Mark Wilcox (NHS) *Michael Parker (Oxford) * Nicola Steedman (Scotland dCMO) *Paul Cleary (DHSC) *Peter Horby (Oxford) *Rob Orford (Wales Health CSA) *Sharon Peacock (PHE) *Stephen Powis (NHS England) *Stuart Elborn (QUB, Non-Executive Director of the Regulatory and Quality Improvement Agency, Northern Ireland)) * Susan Hopkins (PHE/NHSTT) *Wei Shen Lim (JCVI) *Wendy Barclay (Imperial) * Yvonne Doyle (PHE) Observers and government officials: *Achim Wolf (NHSTT) *Alan Penn (MHCLG CSA) *Andrew Curran (HSE CSA) *Andrew Morris (HDR UK) *Ben Warner (No.10) *Christopher Williams (PHW) *Daniel Kleinberg (Scotland) *Gideon Henderson (Defra CSA) *Giri Shankar (PHW) *Jennifer Rubin (HO CSA) *Jim McMenamin (HPS) *Julian Fletcher (CO) *Laura Gilbert (No.10) *Liz Lalley (WG) *Louise Tinsley (HMT) *Osama Rahman (DfE CSA) *Paul Monks (BEIS CSA) *Phil Blythe (DfT CSA) *Rob Harrison (CO) *Tom Mottershead (DHSC) *Tom Rodden (DCMS CSA) Secretariat: *Laura Eden *Simon Whitfield *Stuart Wainwright


July 2021

The following were added to the list of participants: *
Lucy Chappell Lucy Chappell is a British professor of obstetrics at King’s College London and the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) for the UK Department of Health and Social Care. As part of her CSA role, she oversees the National Institute for Health and ...
(King's College London and DHSC CSA) * Paul Kellam (Imperial College London, adviser to the Vaccine Taskforce) *Thomas Waite ( Deputy CMO for England, adviser to Joint Biosecurity Centre)


Criticism and developments

An April 2020 article in ''The Guardian'' written by Richard Coker cited SAGE as a potential example of "scientific groupthink" in which disagreement and/or conflicting views are minimised to reach a consensus. Although disagreement is not preferable, this may ultimately lead to potentially irrational decision-making as counter views are not encouraged. On 24 October 2020, ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
'', while noting that SAGE minutes are published, called for a publication of the data used by SAGE, including NHS occupancy data, that were employed by it to justify the decisions it made. The editors remarked how in France hospital occupancy data were indeed published daily, while they were told by the NHS to submit a
Freedom of Information Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, indigen ...
request, which can take up to 28 days.


Independent SAGE

The questions raised about the transparency of SAGE and possible political interference during the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about trust in public health messaging by opposition parties and others. As an alternative, a group of scientists created Independent SAGE, chaired by Sir David Anthony King, a former Government
Chief Scientific Advisor The UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) is the personal adviser on science and technology-related activities and policies to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet; and head of the Government Office for Science. The Chief Scientific Adv ...
, in early May 2020 to "provide a clear structure on which an effective policy should be based given the inevitability that the virus will continue to cross borders".Independent SAGE Report of 12 May 2020 ''COVID-19: what are the options for the UK? Recommendations for government based on an open and transparent examination of the scientific evidence'' (retrieved 7 June 2020)
/ref> Later that month, Independent SAGE warned against ending lock-down prematurely in places like schools.
/ref>


See also

*
Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens The Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) is a UK-wide advisory committee. It was established in 1981, and the terms of reference were revised in 1991 to allow for a wider remit. Description The terms of reference of the ACDP are: : ...
(ACDP) * Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) *
New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group The New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) is an advisory body that advises the United Kingdom Government's Chief Medical Advisor / Chief Medical Officer for England, who in turn advises the UK Department of Health an ...
(NERVTAG)


References


External links

* *
List of participants of SAGE and related sub-groups for the COVID-19 emergency
*
Meeting minutes and supporting papers for the COVID-19 emergency
{{COVID-19 pandemic Organizations with year of establishment missing Scientific organisations based in the United Kingdom Emergency management in the United Kingdom Organizations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic