The absence of anything much being done in health and social care by the government at the moment leads me into the byways of healthcare, and I have comne across a research review for the Forestry Commission on the health benefits of forests, which was obviously an attempt to get some money predicated on health inequalities for a largely irrelevant agency. This example of tree-hugging policy development is about how walking in the woods is good for you and it concludes:

In reviewing the evidence from research undertaken to date we suggest that an urban forestry approach to targeting health and inequalities could focus on the:

• Restorative benefits of urban forests particularly those in immediate residential surroundings including street trees
• Social contact encouraged and facilitated by urban forest use.

Two groups that could especially benefit from a focus on urban forestry and health are children and poor communities.

I yield to nobody in my enthusiasm for social contact in the woods, but if we’re going to be cutting some healthcare expernditure, studies like this are my first prioirity. You have to say this was a pointless waste of time.

But if you want to know, here is the website: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/urban_health_and_forestry_review_2010.pdf/$FILE/urban_health_and_forestry_review_2010.pdf