General Reports and Other Publications
PC&PE: The UK should continue to provide aid to India until 2015 - according to a new report by a cross party committee of MPs who have analysed the arguments for & against. India has seen remarkable economic growth over the last 25 years, but in per capita terms, the average income is still only 5% of that in the UK and over 400m people still live on less than 80 pence per day.
India’s space programme is often cited as an example of the country’s wealth and further justification for cutting UK aid. The MPs acknowledge that India needs a credible defence policy and point out that the country’s space programme also delivers important socio-economic benefits, including mapping weather patterns and the extent of floods, both of which help development.
DWP: The Department for Work and Pensions has published research exploring the likely pension industry responses to the forthcoming workplace pension reforms. The report presents findings from in-depth interviews with pension providers and intermediaries, carried out on behalf of the DWP by RS Consulting in January & February 2011.
Press release ~ Likely industry responses to the workplace pension reforms: Qualitative research with pension providers and intermediaries
NAO: Unfair treatment of consumers, ranging from pressure selling to systematic scams by criminals, is costing £bns each year – but the system for enforcing consumer law is not delivering value for money. According to a report by the National Audit Office, the overall scale of this so-called ‘consumer detriment’, particularly that caused by doorstep crime, is not being properly evaluated, leading to the inefficient allocation of resources.
The governance arrangements for the consumer law enforcement system are not clear, as demonstrated by the development of 2 separate & incompatible databases, one by the OFT and an alternative by one Trading Standards region. Central government provides annual funding of £34m to tackle crime which crosses the borders between local authorities, but this is relatively low compared to the scale of the problem.
IfG: Local authority mayors should be given more powers to make the difficult decisions that can support growth, according to a new joint report by the Institute for Government and Centre for Cities. Big Shot or Long Shot?: How elected mayors can help drive economic growth in England's shows that ‘mayors have potential to make a strong impact on the challenges that affect the growth of our cities’. But it argues mayors need greater powers to make the more controversial yet important decisions about planning & transport.
AS: An Accounts Commission report published last week, entitled Arm’s-Length External Organisations (ALEOs): are you getting it right?, says councils are increasingly using arm’s-length organisations as an alternative way of delivering services.
nef: Almost 3 years after the financial crisis that almost brought down the global economy, the new economics foundation claims that there is the first sign of awareness from government that structural reform of the banking system is necessary. The Chancellor, George Osborne, is effectively conceding that another bank crisis is likely and acting, not to prevent a crisis, but to protect the taxpayer & depositors when it happens.
However, nef says that the proposed reform stops short of the full & effective separation of casino-style investment banking and high street retail functions, which the USA enjoyed under its Glass Steagall Act.
Newswire – CBI: The CBI last week commented on the latest unemployment figures, showing a fall to 2.43m in the last 3 months. Earlier last week, the CBI launched a new project to explore ways of getting all the UK working by tackling long-term unemployment and inactivity.
NO: London Borough of Bromley’s delay in reviewing the care of an elderly man was “extraordinary and inexcusable” finds Local Government Ombudsman, Dr Jane Martin. In her report, she says he was living in unsatisfactory conditions at a care home arranged by the Council and receiving an inadequate standard of care for perhaps as long as 18 months. The Council’s own investigation confirmed it had failed to ensure that Mr B received adequate care.
PC&PE: The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has reported on aspects of the Government's taxation plans before the House of Commons again discusses this year's Finance Bill at Report Stage.
CO: The Government is publishing the most comprehensive organisation charts of the UK Civil Service ever released online, ‘taking another step towards its goal of being the most transparent government in the world and opening up the structure of the Civil Service to public scrutiny’.
ESRC: Much coverage of the economic downturn has focussed on its immediate impact, yet it is likely to hold long-term implications for family life. A research study (‘Changing Lives and Times’) funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) at Cardiff University has explored the impact of the financial crisis on the daily lives & future plans of new fathers, finding that several men were making significant life changes.
PC&PE: Lord MacGregor of Pulham Market, chairman of the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, recently said that the Government’s response to the Committee's report on Auditors: Market concentration and their role was not good enough.
nef: UK Universities add at least £1.31bn a year in value to society in the form of health & well being, citizenship and political engagement, according to new research by independent think-tank nef (the new economics foundation), published in association with Universities UK. These values are above & beyond the economic contribution that universities make.
