General Reports and Other Publications
TUC: The falling proportion of national output that goes on wages has meant that UK workers are taking home £60bn a year less (in today's money) than workers did 30 years ago, according to a new report published by the TUC.
The finding is published in the latest TUC Touchstone Extra pamphlet All In this Together?, which looks at how the recession and ongoing economic weakness has had an impact on different parts of the workforce. It ‘documents the scale of the real terms pay cuts and downgraded terms & conditions that employees are facing, and warns that UK workers are at risk of a near-permanent lowering in the pattern and nature of their working conditions, with disastrous potential consequences for our future economic health’.
PC&PE: In a report published recently, the Political & Constitutional Reform Committee calls for progress in reforming party political finance arrangements. The Committee highlights the opportunity represented by the publication, on 22 November 2011, of the report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life to achieve a solution. It calls on the Government to fulfil its commitment to "pursue a detailed agreement on limiting donations and reforming party funding in order to remove big money from politics".
NAO: A recently published report, ‘Mobile technology in Policing’, suggests that whilst in many forces mobile devices enable officers to spend more time out of their stations, cash savings have been limited and only 1 in 5 forces have used the devices effectively.
RUSI: ‘The Destinations of the Defence Pound’ considers the value for money in defence contracting, drawing particular attention to the tax revenues associated with British supply chain, compared with buying equipment from overseas.
Using a CIMA approach, a clear methodology & explicit assumption, the study tracks the tax revenues associated with an actual £1m contract, and concludes that the government could get back over 28% in income tax and national insurance payments alone.
DH: NICE is to assess new genetic tests as part of a drive to adopt more genetic technology in the NHS, says a new report, Building on our inheritance: Genomic technology in healthcare.
HEFCE: Following consultation, the Higher Education Funding Council England has published its latest equality scheme, which sets out its approach to equality & diversity both within the organisation and in its work with the higher education sector, for the next three years.
NAO: Apprenticeships for adults offer a good return for the public money spent on them overall, according to the National Audit Office. However, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills could improve value for money significantly by targeting resources on areas where the greatest economic returns can be achieved.
Overall, the Apprenticeship Programme is well coordinated and is better managed than a previous government programme, Train to Gain, for example by maintaining a central register of approved providers, with a single national contract and account manager for each.
WAG: The ‘Working Smarter’ report, recommending a simplified & improved way of working for both regulators & farmers in Wales, has been published. The independent report focuses on 7 key areas and makes 74 recommendations, with an emphasis on how those recommendations should be delivered.
ScotGov: A report into the NHS in Scotland has ‘praised its industrial relations practices and “cast doubt” on the pursuit of market-based reforms south of the border’.
DECC: The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has recently published a comprehensive study on the whole life costs of installing new high voltage transmission lines under the ground, under the sea and over ground.
This study has been undertaken at the Government’s request in order to provide an authoritative & independent point of reference for the Infrastructure Planning Commission in evaluating planning applications for new transmission connections & reinforcements.
NIESR: In the latestNational Institute Economic Review, published last week, Dr. Angus Armstrong, Director of Macroeconomic Research at NIESR, examines the monetary & fiscal policy choices facing an independent Scotland.
NAO: A high take-up nationally of education for 3- and 4-year-olds has been sustained, but there are wide variations in both take-up and access to high quality provision depending on where children live, according to a report published by the National Audit Office.
The Department for Education has made progress against many of its objectives in delivering the free entitlement to early education, but it must address variations in take-up, quality of provision and the impact on attainment in later years if it is to achieve value for money.
PC&PE: The Commons Public Accounts Committee has published its 65th report of Session 2010-12 - Transferring cash and assets to the poor. The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Committee, said: "Transfer programmes appear to pose a lower risk of waste & fraud than more traditional forms of aid, with money going directly to recipients. They have been effective at tackling hunger and malnutrition and improving access to health and education services”.
Demos: An evaluation by the think-tank Demos finds that mentoring programmes can offer direct, positive outcomes – including on aspirations, a sense of agency, and soft skills – for both mentors & mentees.
PC&PE: Malicious software - designed to infect computers to steal bank details and identity information - poses a growing threat in the UK as more people use the internet and an increasing proportion of economic activity takes place online. MPs on the Science and Technology Select Committee say the Government must do more to help the public understand how to stay safe online.
Nef: The economic crisis explained. We are in the second phase of an economic crisis which is global in its scale & reach, affecting all our major institutions and established ways of thinking. How did we get here? And what can we do now to prevent worldwide economic meltdown?
Ippr: Credit-fuelled asset markets have encouraged greater speculation, displacing more traditional long-term investment strategies. After the credit boom, changes of allocation by UK savings institutions could play a major role reinvigorating the domestic economy according to a paper published by the think tank IPPR.
ESRC: Older people feel that their health problems pose a challenge to their sense of independence, dignity & identity and sometimes the health care they are given makes things worse. According to research funded by UK Research Councils' New Dynamics of Ageing programme (NDA), healthcare providers must avoid taking a 'blanket view' of how to help older people cope with the ageing process.
