General Reports and Other Publications
Civitas: Widely trumpeted reductions in exclusions from schools are mostly a statistical illusion, according to a new report (A NewSecretGarden?) by independent think tank Civitas.
Thousands of pupils, many with behavioural difficulties, are shifted to alternative providers & FE colleges. These 'managed moves' & 'referrals' do not show up in official exclusion statistics, even though they often constitute effective exclusion.
Thousands of pupils, many with behavioural difficulties, are shifted to alternative providers & FE colleges. These 'managed moves' & 'referrals' do not show up in official exclusion statistics, even though they often constitute effective exclusion.
Newswire – WWF: The latest dialogues co-ordinated by the Food Ethics Council (FEC) and WWF-UK show there is willingness to break the stalemate between producers & environmental groups over the role changing livestock consumption has in tackling climate change.
Press release ~ Livestock consumption and climate change: progress and priorities ~ WWF: Food ~ Food Ethics Council (FEC) ~
Newswire – WWF: Addressing carbon emissions & urban development will be crucial if China is to continue to improve well-being without costing the planet, says a new report launched this week.
The ‘China Ecological Footprint Report 2010’, jointly published by WWF and China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), explores the country’s challenges & opportunities in an increasingly resource-constrained world. Over the past 3 decades China’s per capita income has grown by more than 50 times as a result of economic development.
The ‘China Ecological Footprint Report 2010’, jointly published by WWF and China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), explores the country’s challenges & opportunities in an increasingly resource-constrained world. Over the past 3 decades China’s per capita income has grown by more than 50 times as a result of economic development.
Press release ~ The China Ecological Footprint Report 2010 ~ WWF China for a Global Shift Initiative ~ China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) ~ Global Footprint Network
Demos: Hundreds of thousands of people die in hospital each year when they could die where they want to, at home, according to a new report published by Demos. A growing dependence on hospitals to care for the dying only increases distress for terminally ill people & their families, as well as taking up valuable NHS resources.
An estimated 20% of hospital beds are currently taken up with end of life care and Demos calls for a ‘Big Society’ response in which civic, mutual & self-help solutions play a much greater role.
An estimated 20% of hospital beds are currently taken up with end of life care and Demos calls for a ‘Big Society’ response in which civic, mutual & self-help solutions play a much greater role.
NLGN: Proposals to make new elected Police Commissioners more accountable to broader local democratic government and their local communities are published in a new NLGN paper. The New Local Government Network has drawn up a list of proposals & safeguards to create better working practices between the Commissioners and Police & Crime Panels (PCPs), the body established to hold the new elected post to account.
ScotGov: Inspectors have called for a number of improvements at Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Sick Children in a report published last week. While the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate's report found that the hospital complied with most of the healthcare associated infection standards, it also calledfor improvements in the quality of cleaning & better monitoring of cleaning.
ScotGov: Housing associations across Scotland have the power to build new homes with much less public funding, a new study reveals. Leading experts at Heriot Watt and York universities examined the capacity of social landlords & councils to finance & build new housing stock against a range of assumptions. They found that the sector as a whole has the capacity to make taxpayers' money go further.
Press release ~ A Study into the House Building Capacity of Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords in Scotland ~ Scottish Government's Affordable Housing Investment Programme
LSN: The Government sees growth in certain key sectors – such as advanced manufacturing, ‘low carbon’ and life sciences – as critical to the UK’s economic recovery. However, new research by LSN’s independent think tank, the Centre for Innovation in Learning, has found that the capacity of the UK education system to provide skills for some of these sectors could threaten this ambition and therefore the recovery.
FCO: Foreign Secretary William Hague spoke at the launch of a UK India Business Leaders Climate Group report, offering support for the Group in ‘realising its vision of UK and Indian businesses collaborating on low carbon opportunities’.
Press release ~ UK-India Collaboration for a Prosperous Low Carbon Economy: Opportunities, Challenges and Recommendations ~ UK-India BKLCG
FSA: An independent assessment by the General Advisory Committee on Science (GACS) has concluded that ‘the Agency-commissioned 2009 review of the nutrient content of organic and non-organic foods followed good practice at all stages’. GACS considered concerns put forward by the Soil Association and the Organic Trade Board regarding the validity of the study and the nature of the Agency’s communications.
Nutrition policy is now the responsibility of the Department of Health in England and it will be for Health Ministers to consider whether further research is conducted in this area.
Nutrition policy is now the responsibility of the Department of Health in England and it will be for Health Ministers to consider whether further research is conducted in this area.
Press release ~
DECC: The Government has published the Redfern Inquiry into the analysis of human tissue taken from individuals who had worked in the nuclear industry. The inquiry was set up in 2007 to look at the processes & practices surrounding the analysis of human tissue that was carried out in UK nuclear facilities from 1955 to 1992.
JRF: New research published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that unemployed people have a ‘strong work ethic, actively look for work, and are prepared to take jobs even when they are poor quality’.
Increasing numbers of people are facing poverty as they move from one short-term job to another, but often choosing not to claim benefits and missing out on the support they need. The report's findings challenge popular ideas about 'cultures of welfare dependency'.
Press release ~ How and why do people become trapped in a long-term cycle of low-paid jobs and unemployment?
HEFCE: A review of international student mobility says that study abroad can significantly boost the chances of a student's success in later life and bring benefits to the UK's knowledge economy. The report distinguishes between those who study abroad as part of a course at a UK higher education institution and those who study an entire degree course outside the UK.
CH: Cyber warfare is a complex, fast-evolving political and technological phenomenon which can only be understood & managed if placed within a framework of national strategy.
A new Chatham House report, On Cyber Warfare, argues that national strategy must itself be reviewed & adapted if it is to take proper account of cyber warfare.
A new Chatham House report, On Cyber Warfare, argues that national strategy must itself be reviewed & adapted if it is to take proper account of cyber warfare.
IfG: Adrian Brown, Fellow at the Institute for Government, leading research on mutuals and the Big Society, has commented on the Cabinet Office announcement on mutuals in public services.
Press release ~ IfG Blog: The feeling's mutual ~ The Institute's work on Big Society Public Services ~ Cabinet Office's announcement on mutuals in public services ~ Public Finance article: Maude urges organisations to accept mutuals bids
HEFCE: HEFCE has welcomed an evaluation of Lifelong Learning Networks (LLNs) which shows the programme has achieved well against its objectives and has improved progression opportunities for learners on vocational programmes into and through higher education.
KF: The King’s Fund has warned against the idea that more information is always better and suggests the government should be cautious about patients’ ability to make full use of the ‘information revolution’ in a new report.
The research used focus groups and online experiments to find out how the design of information influences which hospitals patients choose. It concluded that simply allowing all information currently available about the quality of care to be put into the public domain would not result in people making more informed choices about their care.
Press release ~ Choosing a high quality hospital - The role of nudges, scorecard design and information
MAC: The required limits on skilled & highly skilled migrant workers admitted to the UK under Tiers 1 and 2 of the Points Based System in 2011/12 were published last week by the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).
Press release ~ Migration Advisory Committee report on limits for Tier 1 and Tier 2 for 2011/12 and supporting policies
ScotGov: Climate Change Minister, Stewart Stevenson last week published a major report showing how Scotlandis ‘implementing climate change strategies and is poised to take advantage of the huge economic opportunities of a low carbon society’. The report also presents additional options to drive emissions down and ensure Scotland's annual targets can be met each year to 2022.
PX: A new report from think tank Policy Exchange warns that the official re-offending rate is unsafe. The report finds a strong correlation between reductions in re-offending rates and increases in police cautions. Although cautions require an acceptance of guilt from the offender, they are excluded from adult re-offending statistics. It recommends a radical shake-up of the criminal justice system in order to truly reduce re-offending and recidivism.
nef: David Cameron’s plan to measure the UK’s well-being is very welcome, says independent think-tank nef (the new economics foundation), creators of the first National Accounts of Well-being, but the Prime Minister must ensure that he acts on the data.
CRC: In July 2010 the CRC completed a short research based project exploring the provision of affordable rural housing through the use of Exception Sites, Section 106 Agreements, and local land trusts. This report draws on the ‘ground level’ experience of delivery practitioners to inform how Section 106 Agreements, rural Exception Sites and Community Land Trusts might be made more effective in the delivery of affordable housing, especially in difficult economic circumstances.
Newswire – PASC: The Public Administration Committee (PASC) has published a report on the Appointment of the dual post of First Civil Service Commissioner and Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Committee is prepared to endorse this appointment, but it has serious concerns about the appointment of a senior civil servant to this post and the lack of consultation surrounding the proposal to combine these 2 roles in one person.
Press release ~ Pre–appointment hearing for the dual post of First Civil Service Commissioner and Commissioner for Public Appointments ~ www.parliament.uk/pasc
IISS: Towards a NATO–Russia Strategic Concept: Ending Cold War Legacies; Facing New Threats Together examines possible ways for transforming NATO–Russia relations in a way which could help to overcome the legacy of mutual mistrust and enhance the scope & effectiveness of practical cooperation between them.
CRC: To help new, and would-be, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) harness rural growth & potential, the Commission for Rural Communities recently reviewed how previous economic partnerships understood & embraced rural in their work. Its report (Recognising rural interests within Local Enterprise Partnerships) draws out good practice from several areas, on 4 themes, ranging through evidence to representation.
The CRC are also making available the evidence they submitted in August 2010 to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee for its inquiry into Local Enterprise Partnerships and the Regional Growth Fund.
Press release ~ Recognising rural interests within Local Enterprise Partnerships ~ Local Enterprise Partnership inquiry submission
NAO: A National Audit Office examination of the Highways Agency’s PFI contract to widen the M25 as a way of reducing congestion has concluded that it ‘could have been materially better value for money’.
The slowness with which it was taken forward resulted in higher financing costs in the credit crisis. This increased the net present cost of the deal by £660m (24%) to £3.4bn. Moreover, the Agency was slow to investigate a potentially cheaper alternative to widening.
The slowness with which it was taken forward resulted in higher financing costs in the credit crisis. This increased the net present cost of the deal by £660m (24%) to £3.4bn. Moreover, the Agency was slow to investigate a potentially cheaper alternative to widening.
iea: Responding to the latest borrowing figures from the ONS, Mark Littlewood, Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs, expressed grave concern that these figures disguise the gravity of Britain’s financial situation, saying:
“The latest official national debt figure of £845bn underestimates the true national debt figure by a factor of over five…… It is worrying enough to see official figures show a jump in national debt over the last year from the equivalent of 49% of GDP to over 57%, but the reality is that our real national debt stands at 333% of GDP”.
