General Reports and Other Publications

CHGold can be expected to continue playing a significant role in the international monetary system, serving as a valuable hedge and safe haven, particularly in times when tail risks predominate.  However, reintroducing gold as an anchor in the international monetary system would be impractical & damaging given bullion’s deflationary bias, says a new Chatham House Report
Press release & links
 
BIS: Professor John Kay has published an interim report on his Independent Review of investment in UK equity markets and its impact on company performance and governance. It provides an overview of submissions received in response to last September’s call for evidence, and reflects the many conversations the review team has had with business leaders and other experts over the last few months.
 
The comments & proposals discussed in the report signal areas of interest for the final report, but do not represent its provisional conclusions, and Professor Kay is not making any recommendations at this stage. Interested parties with additional evidence relevant to the Review can make a submission to the secretariat by Friday 27 April 2012.  Professor Kay will present his final report, including recommendations for action, to the Business Secretary in the summer.
Press release & links ~ CBI comment
 
ESRC: The latest official unemployment figures show that unemployment among young people has soared to 22.3%, higher than the recession of the 1990s, while the overall unemployment rate is 9%.   

New research from Understanding Society, a study of more than 40,000 UK households, has examined what is driving this uneven employment pattern and finds that young people suffer from a 'double-penalty' in their attempts to find and keep a job.
Press release & links
 
ESRCInitiatives by successive governments to provide better access to higher education for young people from less-privileged backgrounds have failed according to Understanding Society, the world’s largest longitudinal study.  
Press release & links
 
NAOPlans by the Child Maintenance & Enforcement Commission to reduce its spending are high risk, according to the National Audit Office.  There is already a £44m shortfall in the £161m reduction originally expected by 2014-15.
Press release ~ Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: cost reduction
 
NLGN: The new age of austerity risks creating a reclusive society characterised by public affluence and private squalor, localism think tank NLGN warned recently. In a provocation paper setting out scenarios for future relationships between councils & the public, the think tank warns that the era of austerity could create ‘me first’ attitudes that cause people to turn away from public services and instead demand tax cuts & access to private sector services.
 
NLGN’s paper – Anticipating the Future Citizen – argues that without strong local leadership, greater central government support for localism and significant investment in community solutions, local government risks ever greater community disconnection & anger.
Press release & links
 
PC&PE: The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has recently published its report on the role & functions of departmental Chief Scientific Advisers (CSAs). The report sets out a range of recommendations to ensure that Government policy decisions are supported by the best science & engineering advice available.
Press release & links
 
NIESR: The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has published research which finds that skilled migrants make positive contributions to innovation and business operations through their advanced technical knowledge and niche skills.
Press release & links
 
TUC: The government must be far more ambitious in its attempts to tackle the growing youth unemployment crisis, says a new TUC report. Generation Lost: Youth unemployment and the youth labour market is the latest in the series of Touchstone Extra pamphlets.
 
The pamphlet finds that the government's response so far only provides enough places on support programmes for around one in 10 young people who will claim Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) in future, and analyses official data to suggest that the unpaid Work Experience scheme is not leading to any overall improvements in young people's chances of finding work.
Press release & links
 
CHRussia's stability is at increased risk and the overriding objective of Vladimir Putin is to preserve the narrow & personalized ruling system built over the past 12 years, says a new Chatham House report. Putin Again: Implications for Russia and the West argues that the instruments of government (not least the security forces) are corrupted & unreliable, but they have a clear interest in maintaining the system that sustains them. 
Press release & links
 
RUSISecurity policymakers have placed a great deal of focus on mounting the biggest security operation to avert a terrorist threat in the coming London Olympics, while postponing much needed reform until after the Games, according to a new report from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
Press release & links
 
PC&PE: The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has published its Report on the implementation of the right of disabled people to independent living in the context of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which was ratified by the UK in 2009.
Press release & links ~ EHRC comment
 
PXPolice officer pensions have become ‘unaffordable for taxpayers’ and a drain on police budgets.  A new report by think tank, Policy Exchange, reveals that the rising cost of police pensions means that the taxpayer is now picking up around 80% of the bill, with total costs standing at £2.5bn a year, the equivalent to £1 in every £7 of total police expenditure.
Press release & links
 
AS: Scotland’s councils & NHS boards must improve the planning & organisation of social care. Councils spend £3bn a year on these services, which are vital for many people, according to an Audit Scotland report, Commissioning social care.
Press release ~ Documents
 
ECData matching may have the potential to improve electoral registers in Great Britain, but more work needs to be done, the Electoral Commission has advised the UK Government.
Press release & links
 
CIPD: The crisis in trust many organisations are facing can be repaired, but not if we continue to blame the economy and focus solely on senior leadership.  In reality, we all need to recognise that we each have a stake in the future success of the organisations in which we work.  
 
That’s according to new research published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which found that the crisis in trust predates the economic downturn and is a function of a breakdown of 5 types of trust relationship within an organisation.
Press release & links
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