The aim of the UK study tours is: to examine, at first hand and from a strategic perspective, the prospects for the stability, security and prosperity of the United Kingdom as evidenced by the part of the UK visited.
Members were tasked to conduct a group analysis leading to a presentation in Seaford House to answer the following master questions:
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Is the UK polity (including the Union itself) becoming more stable and cohesive or less?
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Is British society becoming more equitable and cohesive, or not?
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Is governance at each level becoming more democratic and trusted?
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Is economic prosperity assured and rising, or not?
The seven groups each comprised around a dozen members with one SDS or DS. This year we visited:
Scotland – Edinburgh and Glasgow
Wales – Cardiff and the valleys
Northern Ireland – Belfast and Londonderry
North-west England – Manchester, Blackpool and the Lake District
Yorkshire – Humberside and Sheffield
West Midlands – Birmingham and Stratford
East of England – Luton, Cambridge and Norwich
Members were able to gain an authoritative insight into the challenges facing each region and the progress being made by meeting a broad spectrum of senior interlocutors from government, industry, the media and academia as well as directly from the deliverers of public services, including education, health, criminal justice and transport. On return to Seaford House each study group presented their conclusions on the cross-cutting issues so that the whole course not only gained an understanding of the different regions of the United Kingdom but were also able to identify the major strategic challenges facing the UK as a whole.
Brief accounts of the study visits written by the Members themselves can be accessed by clicking on the link on the following link UK Study Tour Reports