Expert insight, analysis and comment on key public policy issues
By Ruth Lupton Filed Under: Featured Posted:
Last week the government announced its child poverty strategy – but at the same time revealed that, after a year of consultation and consideration, it has still not been able to reach a conclusion on how to measure success. Prof Ruth Lupton explains why the government should stick with the measures it has got. Thanks […]
By David Barnard-Wills Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted:
David Barnard-Wills argues that EU citizens don’t necessarily want to trade their privacy for security – and that policymakers should take their views seriously in determining surveillance practices. Fuelled in part by Edward Snowden’s release of documents revealing NSA and GCHQ surveillance practices, recent months have seen much media coverage of surveillance and European citizens […]
By Nicholas Lord Filed Under: All posts Posted:
It’s been a difficult few years for the UK’s beleaguered Serious Fraud Office (SFO), writes Dr Nicholas Lord. As the authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of corporate corruption in international business, it’s been blighted by a lack of prosecutions, collapsed cases, failed investigations and data loss. But while the introduction of Deferred Prosecution […]
By Jonathan Hammond Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted:
The potential for Care.data to improve the health of the nation is hard to argue with, writes Jonathan Hammond. But he argues that a lack of patient control, security concerns and a lamentable communications strategy have tarnished the laudable aims of the whole scheme. Let’s start with some facts about Care.data. It is a programme […]
By David Springate Filed Under: Science and Technology Posted:
Amid the furore over the delayed Care.data scheme, the reality is that the storage of pseudoanonymised patient data is already common practice, writes Dr David Springate. He argues that a national primary care database will bring big benefits – and says the risk of individuals’ data being de-anonymised by big pharma companies or criminals is remote. […]
A new approach to seeking out and responding positively to early warnings on technological innovations is needed, argues Hilary Sutcliffe, who warns we need to welcome them and be prepared to act if necessary. A must read for anyone involved in innovation is the latest volume of the European Environment Agency’s ‘Late Lessons from Early Warnings […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted:
As our Coalition Government moves inexorably towards its end, what are the factors and events that will determine how and when the formal dissolution takes place? Speculation is starting to build, says Prof Colin Talbot, not least because of obvious ‘distancing’ tactics being adopted by both the partners to the Coalition. We have 15 months […]
By Danny Fitzpatrick Filed Under: Science and Technology Posted:
A top-down centralised decision-making process and government functions working in silos are not new features of UK politics, writes Dr Daniel Fitzpatrick. But as communities across the UK experience misery due to flooding, it seems these deeply entrenched pathologies of policymaking are increasingly out of step with the ‘wicked’ issues that society is facing. The […]
By Laura McLeod Filed Under: All posts Posted:
The protests in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have not taken any observers of the country by surprise, writes Dr Laura McLeod. But, she argues, amid all the early analyses and demands, it’s vital to make sure a gender perspective is included. Resentment about ongoing corruption encouraged and perpetuated by many politicians and political parties has […]
By Rob Ford, Will Jennings and Mark Pickup Filed Under: Featured, Polling Observatory Posted:
This is the thirty-second in a series of posts that report on the state of the parties as measured by opinion polls. By pooling together all the available polling evidence we can reduce the impact of the random variation each individual survey inevitably produces. Most of the short term advances and setbacks in party polling fortunes are […]