Nick Davies
Programme Director
All work
Fixing public services: Cross-cutting problems
In recent years, governments have repeatedly found it necessary to top up single-year budgets in response to poor performance.
Fixing public services: The criminal justice system
Police, criminal courts, prisons and probation are all struggling to cope, with major performance problems and demand set to keep growing.
Fixing public services: Schools
Widening disadvantage gaps, high SEND spending, teacher shortages and the condition of the estate all present challenges to the schools system.
Fixing public services: Local government
Severe funding shortfalls for local authorities mean spending on acute services, such as social care, is squeezing out other services.
Fixing public services: The NHS
Labour's NHS commitments are likely to require more spending. But recent spending increases have not generated commensurate performance improvements.
Fixing public services: Summary
Sticking to the status quo means most services are likely to be performing worse at the next election in 2028/29 than at the last election in 2019.
Fixing public services
The government's public services inheritance make its spending plans untenable.
A preventative approach to public services
The next government must focus on prevention or risk worse public services and higher taxes.
Jeremy Hunt’s spring budget 2024 did little to address long-term problems in public services
With the dust settled on the budget, Nick Davies looks at what it means for public services.
Six lessons government should learn from the Post Office scandal
The handling of the Post Office scandal has wider lessons for government.