Daniel Zeichner (Member of Parliament for Cambridge) joined top researchers on the 4th July in Parliament to receive rapid-fire briefings on pressing policy issues, including housing, food supplies, energy, health and tackling inequality. Daniel Zeichner spoke to researchers from Rothamsted Research on AI based changes in the way we grow, process, transport and even consume food and University of Lincoln on the on the difference made by data exchange and AI to food supply, because of its importance in Cambridge.
Evidence Week in Parliament is a unique event bringing together MPs, researchers, and the public to discuss how the evidence used to make policy decisions is scrutinised.
Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge said: “Being the MP for a city like Cambridge, with great universities means that I know full well how important an evidence based approach actually is. The scientific method helps us understand the world in a social context and provides empirical and clear information that it is important to take into account when making policy
Evidence Week, now in its sixth year, is run by the campaigning charity Sense about Science and the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST), in partnership with the House of Commons Library, House of Lords Library, Ipsos, the Office for Statistics Regulation and researcher institutions from across the UK. During the week, MPs meet with leading scientists to get the latest insights on pressing issues covering topics as varied as housing, food supplies, energy, health and inequality. It is an opportunity for the public, parliamentarians, and researchers to come together to share knowledge and insights. It empowers legislators to engage with evidence and equips them with the critical tools to handle uncertainty, identify bias and scrutinize underlying assumptions.
Tracey Brown, Director of Sense about Science, said: “Evidence matters to people in all walks of life, so I am sure many constituents will welcome Daniel Zeichner‘s public commitment to evidence informed policy making.”
Evidence Week in Parliament gives MPs a fresh perspective on tricky policy questions with the latest insights from top UK researchers, to help them make better decisions on everything from energy policy to cybersecurity.”
According to a representative survey of 1,078 adults in Great Britain by Ipsos and Sense about Science released this week for Evidence Week 2023, only a third or less of people think MPs are equipped to ask the Government the right questions about evidence on critical policy areas including the use of Artificial Intelligence (26% confident versus 60% not confident), energy policy (31% confident versus 60% not confident), healthcare (33% confident versus 59% not confident), the economy (34% confident versus 57% not confident) and climate change (30% confident versus 60% not confident).
Around half of Britons continue to think politicians pay too little attention to evidence (7% too much, 51% too little, 24% about right, 19% don’t know) or to public opinion (15% too much, 54% too little, 20% about right, 12% don’t know), while 1 in 3 think they pay too much attention to what they think is right (35% too much, 25% too little, 24% about right, 16% don’t know).
