Taking back control means more than just transferring power from Brussels to Whitehall, it means placing empowered communities at the country’s constitutional core. Democratise, Decentralise, Deliver is a research programme of three separate but inter-related policy reports on community empowerment, national representation of local government and the incentivisation of goodwill through locally funded and controlled public services […]
Clean Local Growth – an overview: The disappointing post-2008 growth in the UK economy presents an opportunity for places in England to take the initiative in developing innovative new, clean ways to grow the economy – achieving the dual goal of rebalancing the national economy and stimulating local prosperity. Clean growth forms a crucial part […]
Total government expenditure on procurement reached £284bn in 2017/18. Traditionally, the primary focus of procurement has been to deliver services more efficiently whilst reducing costs. The implementation of the Public Service (Social Value) Act 2012 was intended to increase the wider benefits that could be gained through public procurement – for instance through delivering social […]
Although its principles are now well-established and practiced, the full promise of a total place approach to area budgeting and comprehensive public service reformation in localities remains unrealised. At a time when ministers and officials are straining all means necessary to funnel billions of pounds from the health service’s 70th anniversary budget boost into shovel-ready […]
In recent years, a sense of alienation from national politics has arisen in significant parts of the country and among significant cohorts. The Brexit vote has given rise to a political imperative to, on the one hand, raise productivity and on the other, ensure that gains are felt immediately across the country. This does not […]
Productive businesses need prosperous communities to thrive and grow – prosperous communities need productive and profitable businesses. This report argues the relationship is symbiotic. However, the local economic landscape has changed and the relationship between major business and “place” must now be renewed if local industrial strategies are to deliver local economic success. Recommending that […]
The fight for cleaner air is one of liveability. What changes and investments are society willing to take for their place to be a more pleasant one to live and work in? How willing are people, businesses and governments to change the way they operate for a more sustainable economy? At what point do questions […]
The rhetoric of digitisation pervades the contemporary political conversation. Smart devices, connected in smart homes, connected in smart cities give policymakers ever better information on which to base decisions. At the same time, the UK’s Road to Zero and its equivalents abroad present a future of carbon-neutral countries producing zero emissions. Smart Cities: Fair investment […]
The state of the public service market is much more precarious now than in the past, with a number of major government contracts being either cancelled or bailed out at taxpayer expense. With concerns over profitability mounting and contracting bodies seeking to meet stringent savings’ targets, margins for failure have become perilously narrow. As profitability […]
The increased pressure placed on local authorities under the period of austerity since 2010 has been well rehearsed, but how well have local authorities as a whole managed under the strain? This short report examines some of the evidence available on one crucial line of service: social care. The analysis shows most users of adult […]