Devolution in this context refers to the transfer of law-making powers from the UK Parliament in London, to legislatures in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. Before 1999, all the major law-making powers for the UK sat in the UK Parliament, but many have now been passed to the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly to enabling the making and implementation of policy decisions that cater of the needs of their citizens. Officials from the UK Government and the devolved administrations (DAs) work together on complex policy issues that affect the public across the UK, in areas where law-making competence rests either with the UK Parliament, or these other legislatures.
Through this Away Day, Lancaster University (LU) students will gain an understanding of how intergovernmental work takes place across the UK in the environment, food, and rural affairs sectors. LU students will have opportunities to ask questions of senior officials from across the four administrations of the UK on their experience in working across the UK on these issues, and receive feedback on LU students’ own policy proposals. The Away Day will involve an interactive panel discussion, guided group work, a mock-briefing exercise, and in-depth feedback from and networking opportunities with Defra and DA officials.
Objectives
 To understand the process involved in briefing senior officials in Government.
 To develop coherent arguments on a complex political issue heavily affected by a complex institutional and political environment.
 To establish how officials from administrations with different political priorities work constructively together across the UK while upholding institutional values.
 To establish how subject specific skills enable graduates to respond to new areas of policy making across the UK.