General Reports and Other Publications

EH: The impact on historic town centres of the changing face of retail & shopping compounded by difficult economic times is explored in new English Heritage research. The research reveals the latest retail & property trends and the implications for historic high streets and town centres over the next few years.
Press release & links
 
HMICSome of the most intrusive & contentious powers granted to the police are those of stop & search; but the majority of forces do not understand how to use these powers effectively & fairly to prevent & detect crime, finds a report published last week.
Press release ~ Stop & Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively & fairly?
 
Defra: The future of farming review group, brought together by Farming Minister David Heath in January 2013, has set out what actions they think are needed to attract new talent to careers in agriculture.
Press release & links ~ Future of farming review report
 
PC&PE: Government plans to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses from late 2015 need to be more clearly & tightly defined, say the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
Press release & links
 
CSJPrivate firms & charities should be given a bigger role in providing back to work support, as Britain’s faltering £1.4bn-a-year network of job centres is letting unemployed people down, according to a major new report. The report from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), the think tank that designed the Coalition’s Universal Credit welfare reform, identifies a string of problems with the current UK system.
Press release ~ The CSJ’s report, Up to the Job?
 
CBI: Ministers must accelerate a £300m scheme to provide superfast broadband to rural households, a new CBI report urged last week. It argues it would be more cost-effective to roll forward the funding to target existing local schemes and a wider range of technology to drive up connectivity now - including fixed, mobile, wireless and satellite systems.
Press release & links
 
FSA: The FSA has published the findings of its research into domestic kitchen practices.  The findings of the study, called Kitchen Life, offers for the first time detailed insights into what people actually do & why in UK kitchens, and will help to develop our thinking about how to reduce the burden of foodborne disease.
Press release ~ Research exploring domestic kitchen practices
 
HMT: Treasury publishes Sir Nick Macpherson’s review into the arrangements for proactive pre-releasing of Budget information under embargo on Budget day.
Press release & links
 
PC&PE: The Public Accounts Committee has published its 15th Report of this Session which, on the basis of evidence from Serco and from the National Health Service, examined the provision of the out-of-hours GP service in Cornwall.
Press release & links
 
TfL: A new report, commissioned by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, calls for bold action to be taken to ‘cut congestion and improve facilities for cyclists & pedestrians in the Capital’. Recommendations from the Mayor's Roads Task Force (RTF) report include building tunnels to free up space above ground for cycle lanes, green spaces and new developments, as well as revitalising high streets across the city.
Press release & links
Facing the Future...find out more