A report by Parliament's Science and Technology Committee said ministershave suggested that policies such as Sure Start and junk food bans inschools were evidence based when this was not the case.
Liberal Democrat MP Phil Willis, the committee's chairman, said: "Thisis a very significant problem and it is crucial for children's policiesbecause children only get one chance. For example, multi-sensorylearning is very much the rage in schools, but the evidence for it isvery sketchy indeed. Suggesting that policies are based on evidencemakes parents believe there is a body of evidence backing up how theirchildren are being educated."
He added: "There is a real issue in the Department for Education andSkills, because it is one of the few departments without a chiefscientific adviser. The department needs a working academic who canchallenge ministers and examine evidence."
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