Hello, here's a message from Sam Shingles from the charity Sense About Science:
"I am messaging on behalf of Sense about Science, a UK charity that champions the public interest in sound science and ensures evidence is recognised in public life and policy making. We have an exciting opportunity which we would love you to be involved in.
We are inviting different communities and individuals from across the UK to ask how well-equipped Parliament is to understand and use scientific information. The role of Parliament and its MPs, of all parties, is to represent the issues of their constituents to government, and to scrutinise the government’s policy decisions and the evidence behind them. Brand new for Evidence Week in Westminster 2021 is our Ask an MP discussion board, providing you the chance to ask your MP about whether they’re challenging government for the evidence behind their decisions. Government produces policies on all issues from how to address mental health issues, to sustainable fishing practices or the allocation of new housing developments. It is important for you to be able to ask about the types of resources your MP is using to understand the current issues, and whether the government has the tools at its disposal to tackle the policies that matter to you.
Evidence Week will cover many topics including reaching Net Zero, improving employment prospects and digital twins of city infrastructure. But, we want you to ask about the issues that matter to you. We will be inviting a cross section of those who submit questions to attend our Opening Event taking place online on the evening of 1st November. This is a fantastic opportunity to directly put a question to your MP, alongside a panel of experts including the National Statistician and parliamentary committee chairs, to provide real answers to how Parliament and Government is using evidence.
The recording from last year’s event can be found .
During the COVID-19 pandemic, more policy has been passed than any other time outside of wartime. We have all seen how essential it is for decision makers to be able to rapidly get to grips with all kinds of evidence, and be able to lead informed policy making in a complicated and quickly changing situation.
Parliament’s role is to scrutinise what the government does, and to look at and understand issues that affect their constituents in the UK. That is why we are hosting a question-led conversation, to make sure that MPs have their hands on the best tools and information to hold the government to account. Right now, I’m sure you, along with us, feel that this is urgently needed.
This is a fantastic opportunity to Ask an MP about the evidence that matters to you. We would be grateful if you could spread the word to colleagues, friends, family and others to submit questions and help us in the aim of equipping our parliament with the tools to tackle the challenges ahead.
Become part of the conversation on twitter with #AskAnMP and #EvidenceWeek.
If you have any questions about the event or the discussion board, please do not hesitate to email me – [email protected]."