Press coverage

Commenting on new data published today by NHS Digital showing A&E attendances, waiting times and readmittances have all increased compared to the same time last year, Reform think tank Health policy lead, Claudia Martinez, said:

“Today’s performance data confirms again that the NHS is stuck on a carousel of crises.

“To cut A&E attendance, patients need to be able to access out of hours GP provision. Just 13% of people think they can make a GP appointment after 6.30pm, and nine in ten do not think Saturday appointments are available to them.

“Instead of fixating on building shiny new hospitals, the Government should be investing in primary care. The cost of this failure will likely be another winter of crisis.”

Imogen Farhan, Researcher at Reform, was published in a debate piece in City AM on whether winter fuel allowance should be means-tested. 

Read here.

All Parties should commit to means-testing the Winter Fuel Allowance at the next general election, says the Reform think tank.

Analysis of figures published today by the Department for Work and Pensions show that last year 11.57 million pensioners received between £100 - £300 to help heat their homes, at a cost of almost £2 billion.

However, the think tank argues that this is unfair with fewer than 10 per cent of over-60s households in fuel poverty.

26 per cent of single-parent households, in comparison, are unable to heat their homes.

Tenants in the private sector are at the highest risk of fuel poverty, with 19.4% unable to heat their homes. Less than 4% of over 65s live in the private rental sector.

The think tank is calling for the Winter Fuel Allowance to be means-tested. This would mean that the poorest pensioners would continue to receive this vital benefit, while enabling the savings to be reinvested in cash-strapped public services.

Commenting, Reform Researcher, Imogen Farhan, said:

“Party’s must set aside concerns about the ‘Grey Vote’ and reform this overly-generous benefit.

“It is vital that those struggling to heat their homes receive support, but handing out cash to wealthy pensioners is a waste of taxpayers’ money.

“Means-testing the Winter Fuel Allowance would enable much need public funds to be redirected to those in greatest need.

"With working families struggling to make ends meet, politicians should take this opportunity to create a more generationally fair system.”

Eleonora Harwich, Director of Research and Head of Tech Innovation at Reform was featured in Public Technology in an article on AI and the law. 

Read here.

Dr Luke Heselwood, Senior Researcher at Reform's Letter to the Editor was featured in City AM. The letter covered homelessness death numbers released by the Office for National Statistics.

Read it here. 

Charlotte Pickles, Director of Reform, spoke to the Today programme about the Government’s tough on crime announcements, from the Conservative Party Conference.

Listen from 1.18 here.

Commenting on statistics from the ONS showing the highest year-to-year increase in deaths of homeless people, Dr Luke Heselwood, Senior Reform Researcher, said:

“These tragic figures show that the Government’s policies to tackle homelessness are failing.

“One year on from the flagship Homelessness Reduction Act and the Rough Sleeping Strategy, which were meant to bolster efforts to prevent homelessness, the number of people dying on our streets should not be on the rise.

“Short-term, hand-to-mouth funding for local services has inhibited councils' efforts to implement this legislation and prevent those at risk from becoming homeless. Long-term sustainable funding for these services is a must to reverse this terrible trend.” 

Featured in The Times, The Independent, The Daily Mail and LocalGov.

Charlotte Pickles, Director of Reform, appeared on Politics Live to discuss the latest policy news. 

Watch it back here.

Eleonora Harwich, Director of Research and Head of Tech Innovation at Reform was featured in Public Technology in an article on bias in data and AI systems. 

Read it here.