Lessons from past independent policy reviews

Independent reviews can be a useful tool in the policy making process. They can bring in expertise, bolster credibility and create political distance to help make progress on complex or contentious issues. The Labour government has in its first nine months in office set up over a dozen such reviews to examine important policy areas, from social care to housing – even though the prime minister has now expressed scepticism about whether it is right for ministers to “outsource” policy thinking in this way. 

In this it is following the example set by not only the last Labour government but also the subsequent coalition and Conservative governments, which found reviews a useful tool that have, in some cases, led to meaningful long-term reform.

But not all reviews translate into delivery. Some get the politics wrong and fail to generate momentum for reform; others are set up more as a political tool, to defer or avoid taking action; others still lack focus or take so long that any initial impetus is lost. Strikingly, there is no guidance for when to establish a review, or how to set up and run them. 

This report seeks to address that gap, taking lessons from past independent policy reviews.