For better and smarter public services
Find coverage in the press of Reform's latest work below.
We are always happy to comment on policy issues relevant to our work. If you would like a quote, an interview, or a background briefing, please email press@reform.uk or ring 020 7799 6699 for the quickest response.
On Friday 20 March, we launched our Reform Perspectives on 'Reducing the prison population: Extending Home Detention Curfew and scrapping short sentences'.
It was covered in The Independent.
Responding to the Budget, Reform think tank Director, Charlotte Pickles, said:
“The Chancellor’s fiscal stimulus in response to the potential economic shock of coronavirus is sensible. But beyond those exceptional measures, this is a high spend, low revenue-raising Budget.
“Aside from the welcome reduction to entrepreneurs’ relief, the Chancellor abandoned the more courageous ideas – such as extending council tax and cutting high rate pension relief – floated pre-Budget. The start of a new Parliament is the time to take unpopular decisions, and the Chancellor may regret not taking this opportunity to shore up the public finances.”
Aidan Shilson-Thomas, Reform Researcher, was featured in The Independent commenting on the spread of coronavirus in UK prisons.
Read here.
Commenting on reports suggesting the Chancellor is due to unveil £70m in new funds to ‘toughen up’ criminal probation, Aidan Shilson-Thomas, Reform Criminal Justice Lead, said:
“This is a welcome investment, and extending the use of electronic monitoring, including using alcohol tags, is good news.
“However, despite sounding tough, hiking up the maximum hours of unpaid work, which is already 300 hours, isn’t likely to have a serious deterrent effect.
“Lessening probation officers’ caseloads and investing in the resettlement of prisoners, so they are not released into homelessness and are supported into employment, are much more pressing challenges for the Chancellor to consider if the Government wants to cut reoffending.”
Welcoming the 9% decline in rough sleeping last year and the Government’s new £236 million fund to help rough sleepers, Reform Director, Charlotte Pickles, said:
“The decline in the number of people identified as sleeping rough is encouraging, and this new money shows the Government are serious about delivering on their manifesto promise to “end” the crisis.
“It is vital, however, that Dame Louise Casey’s review looks at the structural drivers of rough sleeping.
“The shortfall between housing benefit and the cost of private renting, short-term funding cycles for Local Authorities, and the scarcity of social housing must be addressed if lasting change is to be delivered.”
Claudia Martinez, Research Manager and Health lead at Reform appeared on BBC News to discuss 'trolley waits' and pressures on the NHS.
On Wednesday 26 February 2020, Reform launched its report Manufacturing the future: Could healthcare data help rebalance the UK’s economy?
It was covered in CityAM.
Researcher Aidan Shilson-Thomas appeared on talkRadio with James Whale to discuss prison overcrowding.
John Penrose MP, Member of Parliament for Weston-super-Mare and Chairman of the Conservative Policy Forum, wrote an article for The Times Red Box on why the UK needs a sovereign wealth fund.
This accompanies our latest Reform Perspectives report, 'Time to think big: A UK Sovereign Wealth Fund'.
Read the article here.