It is a core tenet of the Horizon Scanning Programme that to get a strong grasp of the most important challenges and opportunities for the UK over the long term, we must draw on a broad range of expertise.
For example, last year, the Horizon Scanning Programme Team worked with departments to organise roundtable discussions on the future of rural communities and children and young people’s risk behaviours.
Each of these discussions was chaired by Sir Mark Walport, the Government Chief Scientific Advisor, and brought together varied groups of experts including practitioners, academics and senior officials from across Government.
A summary of the risk behaviours discussion can be found here. This is accompanied by this data pack, which sets out the trends for a range of risk behaviours and negative outcomes.
The future of rural communities discussion summary can be found here.
Each article reports the key points discussed by external experts. They are not a statement of Government policy.
We’ve shared our findings with a wide range of colleagues across Government, and we hope the work will help policy-makers have a better understanding of the issues identified by leading external experts.
If you would like to share your views on the findings, please let us know by leaving a comment in the box below.
1 comment
Comment by James Derounian posted on
‘What will rural communities look like in the future?
I refer to the e-mail answers given by Leah Pritchard from Defra (dated 20.8.15).
My full comments e-mailed to defra on 10.8 remain - in the majority - unanswered. IF, as mentioned the doc was produced under 'Chatham House Rules' then this should usefully have been indicated!
And if this = the sum of wisdom from "leading industry, academic and voluntary-sector experts, permanent secretaries and chief scientific advisors", then weare in real trouble.....incidentally I note that amongst all these high-flown rep's - and in the spirit of Government's 'Localism'.....no mention of rural community activists and practitioners.
A woeful and less than illuminating publication, that has but 1 saving grace: that it is "not a statement of Government policy".