Recommendation 8

The Chair of the Taskforce took up the unpaid post in May 2020. The Chair was appointed by, and reported directly to, the Prime Minister until the term expired at the end of 2020.17 We asked the former Chair about criticisms of their appointment and their potential political connection. The former Chair told us that they had been clear at the outset that they were not a vaccines expert and that their experience was in “taking novel science and turning those into therapeutics”.18 They explained that, in essence, this meant demonstrating that treatments were effective and safe, ensuring they could be manufactured, and in getting the regulatory approvals needed so that they could be administered . They noted that there were other vaccine experts available, and others may have been better qualified, but that their “venture capital skillset and biotech mindset” had been what was needed for the Taskforce.19 We noted that in a pandemic it was not necessarily possible to undertake a full-recruitment process, but asked whether there should have been more discussion about, or others should have been involved in, the appointment of the Chair. The former Chair told us that they were not privy to what process took place. BEIS similarly told us that it was not privy to the process for this specific appointment and that, in non-emergency circumstances, it would still expect to undertake a normal recruitment process.20