House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology publishes submissions into its horizon scanning and telematics inquiry

The Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology has published the submissions into its inquiry into horizon scanning (that is, the way government looks forward and anticipates important trends).

Among a number of topics it has included ‘autonomous road vehicles and intelligent transport infrastructure’.

We took this as an opportunity to alert Parliament to the fact Government appears to have failed in the past, and is failing now, to adequately anticipate the changes taking place in intelligent transport infrastructure.

Background note: Parliament is not the same as government. We elect a parliament to form a government – parliament then has an interest in safeguarding this role, ensuring that government remains accountable to it and does not hold it in contempt and generally acts in ways which serve democracy. We feel in this case that Parliament should ask some searching questions of government about why it appears to be acting reluctantly to adopt the broad range and scope of changes telematics is generating.

Read all submissions here (and how to follow the proceedings).

Download our submission (with its links) here: Science and Technology select cttee submission

Jonathan Coe

    Jonathan Coe, Editor

    Journalist and comms specialist for over 40 years – trained in print, broadcasting, and industrial intranet. Written about comms policy (eg. as radio editor at Time Out); held senior comms roles in public bodies (National Health Service, local government) and privatised undertakings (London Electricity – now Electricité de France). Since, has developed interests in the ordinary citizen's use of judicial review to challenge irrational decisions of government and the use of rights (like the Freedom of Information Act) to explore irrational decisions (like the BBC's original decision to close the BBC digital radio service BBC 6 Music).

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