Social cohesion

Notes of a preparatory meeting on 19 January 2012

Present: Marion Bailey (Future East), Karen Charlton (Business Class), David Thomson (Bishop of Huntingdon), Professor Per Wikstrom (University of Cambridge Department of Criminology)
with Peter Carolin and Peter Landshoff

What do we need to do now to make a vibrant, cohesive, enterprising society in 2030?
Where do values come from and how do we share them?
What drivers affect how people behave to one another?
What is the social impact of demographic change?
How do people begin to work together to solve problems, such as starting a community bus service?
How do changes in morality lead to new problems?
In many cases people with social problems are unaware of what led to them
Those who come behind the "baby boom" generation, which is just retiring, will have very different attitudes and be somewhat more prosperous, and this will produce tensions
If resources continue to decline, how will this affect how people lead their lives?
Bridging between the younger and older parts of the community is key in the face of economic stress
What are the key provisions local government should make to help social enterprise succeed?