UK-wide Expert Register
COVID-19 Inquiry · Module 2: Core Decision-Making · Issued 20 November 2025 · Addressed to: Government Office for Science
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
The Government Office for Science (GO-Science) should develop and maintain a register of experts across the four nations of the UK who would be willing to participate in scientific advisory groups, covering a broad range of potential civil emergencies.
COVID-19 Inquiry, Module 2: Core Decision-Making · 20 Nov 2025 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- GO-Science committed to refreshing expert selection processes during 2026, including practical steps to support greater diversity.
- The response describes open calls for applications as a 'longer-term ambition' rather than a current commitment, citing resource implications and the need for flexible selection processes.
- No independent assessment of the current register's breadth or diversity has been published.
Sources
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government — initial response
GO-Science already maintains an expert register for SAGE and is committed to refreshing the register; improving selection processes to broaden participation across disciplines, institutions and backgrounds; and increasing our engagement with experts outside of emergencies. During 2026, GO-Science will refresh its processes for expert selection, drawing on lessons from both exercises and activations, and detailing practical steps to support greater diversity. GO-Science is also committed to working with the devolved governments to ensure a robust central register for SAGE.
As a longer-term ambition, GO-Science will explore options for using open calls within our expert identification process, from full open calls across all the risks and disciplines that SAGE covers, through to targeted open calls to address specific expertise gaps or improve diversity. There are potentially significant implications, however, for example the potential size of the applicant pool, the assessment of applications and the resources required to manage the process will need to be carefully considered. The size of the central register must enable it to be used operationally during a crisis and the processes for expert selection need to remain flexible enough when faced with the unexpected.
While the register provides a crucial foundation for convening expert groups in an emergency, it cannot be relied upon exclusively given the breadth of possible scenarios the UK may face. Therefore, as well as improving the register, GO-Science will continue to strengthen the more agile selection processes that work alongside it to identify additional expertise at pace in an emergency.
UK Government · 20 Nov 2025 Written response →
●UK Government — follow-up
GO-Science already maintains an expert register for SAGE and is committed to refreshing the register; improving selection processes to broaden participation across disciplines, institutions and backgrounds; and increasing our engagement with experts outside of emergencies. During 2026, GO-Science will refresh its processes for expert selection, drawing on lessons from both exercises and activations, and detailing practical steps to support greater diversity. GO-Science is also committed to working with the devolved governments to ensure a robust central register for SAGE.
As a longer-term ambition, GO-Science will explore options for using open calls within our expert identification process, from full open calls across all the risks and disciplines that SAGE covers, through to targeted open calls to address specific expertise gaps or improve diversity. There are potentially significant implications, however, for example the potential size of the applicant pool, the assessment of applications and the resources required to manage the process will need to be carefully considered. The size of the central register must enable it to be used operationally during a crisis and the processes for expert selection need to remain flexible enough when faced with the unexpected.
While the register provides a crucial foundation for convening expert groups in an emergency, it cannot be relied upon exclusively given the breadth of possible scenarios the UK may face. Therefore, as well as improving the register, GO-Science will continue to strengthen the more agile selection processes that work alongside it to identify additional expertise at pace in an emergency.
UK Government · 25 Mar 2026 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 20 Nov 2025 Status: Pending. No government response yet received. Module 2 report published 20 November 2025. Source →
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.