The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons has been closed, with its advisory role transferred to a Home Office body, according to a written parliamentary answer.
Responding to a question from Green Party MP Siân Berry, defence minister Luke Pollard said the decision forms part of a wider review of government arm’s length bodies. He stated that “the Government is undertaking a comprehensive review of the entire Arm’s Length Body landscape”, describing it as a core element of efforts to create a more agile state.
Pollard said that the closure of the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons, known as SACMILL, had already been agreed and implemented. He told Parliament that “the closure of the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons is an important step in Defence’s ALB reform journey”.
According to the minister, the decision was approved through a ministerial write-round and formally announced on GOV.UK on 30 November 2025. Pollard did not give a date for publication of the outcome or recommendations of the review originally referenced in earlier parliamentary questions.
Instead, he confirmed that responsibility for providing independent medical advice on the use of less-lethal weapons has moved outside the Ministry of Defence. Pollard said that “the provision of independent medical advice on the use of less lethal weapons will now be delivered by MILLWEC, as established by the Home Office”.