Parliamentary engagement opportunities

Helping your research shape policy

Below are current opportunities for engagement with UK Parliament and the Government.

CALLS FOR EVIDENCE
You can find our top ten tips for giving written and oral evidence to Select Committees here. General guidance from Parliament can be found here.

Let us know if you intend to submit evidence to the committee inquiries or government consultations listed below, and if we can help in any way, via comms.publicaffairs@lse.ac.uk.

Calls for evidence by topic:

Business, Energy and the Economy

Consultation on Make Work Pay: fire and rehire - changes to expenses, benefits, and shift patterns - DBT Consultation

The Department for Business and Trade is seeking views on two proposed changes to fire and rehire protections in relation to employment benefits and expenses, and to shift patterns. Specifically, feedback on which expenses, benefits and shift changes should be covered by these protections. The aim is to protect employees from negative changes to their employment contracts, while still letting businesses adapt when needed.

Deadline: 1 April

Future of the UK downstream Oil Sector - DESNZ Consultation
The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero are seeking evidence to inform an upcoming strategy for the downstream oil sector that promotes economic growth, energy security and ensures that the sector can support the UK’s energy transition.

Deadline: 20 April

Consultation on Make Work Pay: improving access to flexible working - DBT 

The Department for Business and Trade is seeking views on a new process for employers to follow when handling flexible working requests, as well as insights on flexible working practices more broadly. They are suggesting a proposed new light touch process for employers consulting with employees where a request cannot be immediately agreed. They are asking what training, resources and support can help businesses navigate flexible working requests as well as what other ways exist to improve access to flexible working.

Deadline: 30 April

Communities, Housing, Local Government and Transport

New Towns Draft Plan - Government Consultation

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is seeking views on the draft New Towns Programme and its environmental implications, which the government has been developing since the publication of the New Towns Taskforce report in September 2025. This consultation invites views on:

  • How the new towns draft programme could operate the 7 proposed locations
  • How new towns could be delivered and planned
  • The proposed approach to design and planning policy
  • The government’s offer to locations

Deadline: 19 May

Modernising Elections in the UK – Committee Inquiry

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee is looking into the “health of electoral democracy in the UK today”, and how to reform election processes for the modern age. It comes off the back of the presentation of the Representation of the People Bill, and asks questions about democratic engagement, modernisation of elections, and foreign political donations.  

Deadline: 22 April

 

Technology, Culture, Media and Sport

Investment in Research Infrastructure - Committee Inquiry

The Public Accounts Committee, which examines value for money from government spending, will request written evidence on how UKRI is delivering on the ambition for the UK to be “one of the top three places in the world to create, invest in and scale-up a fast-growing technology business by 2035”. A 2025 PAC report noted a lack of clearly defined objectives for UKRI making it difficult for DSIT to hold it accountable and inability to unable to demonstrate how UKRI monitors and manages its risk appetite in relation to its investment portfolio.  

Deadline: TBC

Health and Social Care

Innovation in the NHS: Personalised Medicine and AI - Select Committee Inquiry
This call for evidence, from the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, explores a broad question: why does the NHS adoption of the UK’s cutting-edge life sciences innovations often fail, and what could be done to fix it?
Advances in artificial intelligence and genomics offer the prospect of developing truly personalised medicine across prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. This inquiry will seek to use this as an example to explore a broader question: why does the NHS adoption of the UK’s cutting-edge life sciences innovations often fail, and what could be done to fix it?
Deadline: 20 April 

Children and Education

Student Loans and Taxing Graduates - Commitee Inquiry

Responding to recent political pressure, the Treasury Committee is examining the student loans system - the terms and conditions under which loans are taken out, and the level of interest levied. They will also focus on the interaction between the loan system and the taxation system, as well as the fiscal implications of the student loan system.

Deadline: 14 April

Ending Child Poverty in Wales - Committee Inquiry

This Welsh Affairs Committee inquiry seeks to understand how the UK and Welsh governments work together towards ending child poverty, and examine what barriers might prevent Wales from realising the ambitions set out in the UK Government's child poverty strategy.

Deadline: 4 May 

The Use of Artificial Intelligence and EdTech in Education - Select Committee Inquiry

The Education Committee is looking to examine how artificial intelligence (AI) and EdTech are reshaping education across England, from early years settings to schools, colleges and universities. The Committee will explore the opportunities these technologies present for improving learning and teaching, as well as the risks they pose - including their potential impact on children’s digital rights, safeguarding, inequalities and assessment.

Deadline: 10 April

The Use of AI in Children's Social Care - DfE Consultation
To help understand how Government can support the use of AI and other digital technology in the delivery of children's social care, DfE is consulting on: where AI and other technology are being used and developed; the impact it’s having; and barriers local authorities face in implementing new tech.

Deadline: 1 May

SEND reform: putting children and young people first - DfE consultation 

The Department of Education are seeking views on their proposed changes to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND, including: early, local and fair support, effectively grounded in evidence, and with shared accountabilities across local partners.

Deadline: 10 May

Children's Digital Wellbeing - Government Consultation

The Government has launched its major consultation which will examine children's use of social media, AI, and gaming platforms to determine if policy interventions are needed. Key questions include: whether there should be a minimum age for social media, and if so, what it should be; whether platforms should be required to switch off addictive features; whether mandatory overnight curfews should be applied; and whether children should be able to use AI chatbots without restriction.

Deadline: 26 May

Home Affairs, Work and Pensions

DWP Administrative-based Benefit statistics - DWP Consultation

 User views are sought on the Department for Work and Pension's plans to change the scheduling and alignment and reduce the frequency of some of our routine administrative-based benefit Official Statistics, including Universal Credit. Proposal one on reducing the frequency of Universal Credit statistics from monthly to quarterly and improve alignment of key metrics has a deadline of 31 March. The remaining four have a deadline of 12 May.

Deadline: 31 March & 12 May

 

 

International and Defense

How the UK Employs its Trade Instruments - Committee Inquiry

The Lords International Agreements Committee is looking at the future of rules-based trade; the success, scope and flexiblity of the UK's trade policy objectives; the use of non-binding instruments in trade policy; options for WTO reform; and related matters.
Deadline: 22 May

Legal and Constitution

Courts and Tribuals Bill - Public Bill Committee

The Committee of MPs gathered to scrutinise the new, and controversial, Courts and Tribunals Bill - which will restrict trial by jury amongst other reforms in an attempt to slash the backlog - has opened a call for written evidence. The Committee begins its scrutiny this week, so the deadline for submissions is imminent. You can read the explanatory notes on the Bill here. Please let the Public Affairs team know if you would like to submit evidence. 

 

Security, safety and protest: the role of Human Rights - Committee Inquiry

The Joint Committee on Human Rights is examining recent changes to laws relating to protest, including if the Government has struck the right balance between its duty to protect the public and its duty to respect the right to protest. It will also examine the reforms meet the UK’s human rights obligations. 

Deadline: 13 May 

Sustainability, Net Zero and Environment


Marketing Fertiliser Products - Government Consultation
All four UK governments are consulting on proposals to repeal existing fertiliser product legislation and replace it with a new regulatory framework – the UK Fertilising Product Regulations (UK FPR) – for placing products on the market in the UK. They are seeking views on: basing UK FPR on conformity assessment; technical requirements for fertilising products marketed under UK FPR; detailed parameters which would apply to products and the more technical aspects of UK FPR; proposals for enforcement; and transitional arrangements.

Deadline: 13 May

Risks and Opportunities to the sustainability of data centres in the UK - Select Committee Inquiry

MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee are exploring how growing AI use might accelerate the need for data centres and whether planning authorities will take account of their impact on the environment. They will consider how new technologies could minimise their environmental impact, what lessons the UK could learn from other countries, how much energy and water data centres are likely to use, and how this could impact net zero goals.

Deadline: 6 April

Future of the UK downstream Oil Sector - DESNZ Consultation

The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero are seeking evidence to inform an upcoming strategy for the downstream oil sector that promotes economic growth, energy security and ensures that the sector can support the UK’s energy transition.

Deadline: 20 April

Land Use and Nature - Committee Inquiry 

The Environment Committee has launched a long-term, multi-stranded inquiry looking at trade-offs between growth, net-zero and conservation, and how the Government and other public bodies manage them. It will consider how the Government is looking to restore habitats and make progress towards international commitments to protect 30% of land by 2030. The Committee will call for evidence on a regular basis - topics may include: restoration of different habitats, such as heathland, wetlands and forest; protected sites; national parks and landscapes; the design and implementation of the Land Use Framework; urban green spaces; and land use in the agricultural sector.

Deadline: ongoing

 

POLICY ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES 

Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST) Notes

Information on the new POST notes, which are used in Parliament by MPs, the House Libraries and members of the Lords, can be found here along with links to other notes that POST are developing and plan to develop in the future. 

Parliament for Researchers: free online training sessions from UK Parliament

The UK Parliament's Knowledge Exchange Unit holds online training sessions on how to use research to engage with Parliament. Sessions are tailored both to different roles and career stages, and to the varied ways in which academics can engage with the policymaking process - for example, how to engage with Select Committees, and how to write for a parliamentary audience. You can watch previous sessions here