Chris Grayling is in parliament today explaining his complex set of probation reforms to MPs. Never one to shirk a challenge, Grayling plans to: Outsource the bulk of probation services, predominantly to private sector organisations Extend services to those who have served prison sentences of under 12 months, who previously were not monitored post-release...
While efforts to improve use of data and evidence in policy making are all to the good, stories and experience must also be part of the policy making toolkit. Our partnership with the Big Lottery Fund is helping policy makers connect with the real world. Going out, observing, listening, talking to the people that...
Earlier this week, the politicians on the Public Accounts Committee joined the long list of people concerned about the UK’s infrastructure deficit. Their report portrayed the Treasury’s Infrastructure Plan as “a list of projects, not a real plan with a strategic vision and clear priorities”. It urged government to “ensure that the legislative and...
With a month of taking office, the new Government Chief Science Adviser, Sir Mark Walport, has become a pantomime villain to at least one environmental commentator, branded as an industry stooge for an article he wrote in the Financial Times in advance of the European debate. Indeed the article went further – to claim...
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan-Smith has urged the wealthy to hand back their benefits. Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham, meanwhile, has re-opened the low pay debate, urging firms to pay staff the ‘living wage’ and suggesting Labour might legislate to end ‘zero hours contracts’, which force employees...