Claire Bynner, research associate at What Works Scotland, reflects on a seminar held by What Works Scotland on 25 March 2015  on the economics of prevention.

Author: Claire Bynner, What Works Scotland

Date: 3 April 2015

This blog summarises the main points from the seminar (held 25 March 2015) and concludes that evidence provides no easy answers for community planning partnership (CPPs).

Today’s policy problems are complex; how to respond to widening inequalities and budget cuts while at the same time reducing the need for crisis intervention and ‘social surgery’. Since the Christie Commission report the policy theory has been that public services should prioritise the interventions most likely to prevent negative outcomes from arising in the first place. The belief is that this will lead to more equitable outcomes and cost savings over the longer term.

CPPs felt the need for practical actions and positive steps towards prevention which they could take in the short to medium term and the need for greater political support for the difficult investment decisions that lie ahead.

Read the post on the What Works Scotland blog.