Reform's research and commentary is regularly featured in the media. You can find press coverage of Reform's work here.
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.
Commenting on the Government’s Social Care funding announced in the 2019 Spending Round, Reform think tank Health policy lead, Claudia Martinez, said:
“Sadly, the £1.5bn funding injection announced today is not even a ‘sticking plaster’ given the scale of the funding gap.
“Boris Johnson pledged to solve the social care crisis “once and for all” yet the spending round has shown that the Government is stuck on a ‘hamster wheel’ of short-termism.
“The long-term fix is an insurance system in which working-age people contribute part of their salary to a later-life care fund. In the short-term, people should release the equity in their property to pay for their care needs and the Government should reduce overly generous pensioner benefits.”
Commenting on the 2019 Spending Round, Charlotte Pickles, Director of the Reform think tank, said:
“Today’s spending review is an electioneering fudge. The Chancellor committed to ‘keep control’ of public finances while splurging cash and pledging to rewrite the fiscal rules.
“While additional investment in public services is needed, without any analysis by the government’s fiscal watchdog, the Chancellor has no idea whether the £13.8 billion spending increase is sustainable. And the uncertainty around Brexit only heightens this risk.
“Sajid Javid was right to talk about public services as lifelines of opportunity. Increased investment in left-behind communities, FE, bus services and tackling homelessness is overdue. But the huge and unevidenced injections of cash for criminal justice, education and NHS services appear to be more about winning votes rather than transforming lives.”
Imogen Farhan, researcher at Reform, wrote an article for the July/August edition of Public Sector Focus, on why the NHS needs to go back to basics in order to realise the 'digital revolution' in mental health.
You can read the piece here.
Commenting on The Ministry of Justice’s prison population projections, Charlotte Pickles, Director of the Reform think tank, said:
“These lower projections do not ‘green light’ the Government’s criminal justice reforms.
“62 per cent of prisons are currently overcrowded, and we have the highest prison population in Western Europe.
“The Ministry of Justice is also clear that these predictions are likely to change when the Prime Minister’s plans for tougher sentences come into effect.
“It is vital that the right people are being sent to prison, but a return to the days of ‘prison works’ will not cut crime, reduce reoffending or keep the public safe.”
Covered in The Guardian and other various outlets.
Reform think tank Director, Charlotte Pickles, spoke to Public Finance in a Q&A about Prime Minister Boris Johnson's criminal justice reform, the one-year 'spending review' and plans for our future.
Read it here.
“These results are very encouraging, and demonstrate that smart, targeted investment can reduce prison violence.
“These findings must now inform how the £100 million promised last week by the Prime Minister is spent. Violence is a critical issue across the prison estate. The 10 prisons are a small proportion of the estate, and do not include some of the worst in the country, which must now be the focus of attention.
“It is also vital that the Government does not undermine this progress through its ill-conceived sentencing proposals. Locking more people up for longer will create more demand in an already overstretched system, further exacerbating violence. Prison must always be a last resort.”
Covered in The Financial Times, The Yorkshire Post and other regional publications.
Aidan Shilson-Thomas, Researcher at Reform, wrote an op-ed for Public Finance, outlining why the Prime Minister should focus on re-offending and scrapping short sentences if he wants to cut down on crime.
Read it here.
Reform think tank Director, Charlotte Pickles, wrote an article for City AM outlining why the Prime Minister's 'tough on crime' rhetoric won't make our streets any safer.
You can read it here.
Commenting on the Sutton Trust’s annual aspirations polling, Reform Education lead, Dr Luke Heselwood, said:
“These figures show an alarming aspiration gap between disadvantaged and advantaged pupils when it comes to attending university.
“Higher education remains the primary route to top jobs and poorer pupils must not be put off from applying otherwise improving social mobility will remain a pipe dream. Where young people have the grades, their background should not determine their educational outcomes. Talent is not concentrated among the wealthy. Schools and universities must do more to close this gap and the new Education Secretary must make this a priority.”
Dr Luke Heselwood, Senior Researcher at Reform, wrote a piece for the Times Education Supplement, on why we should spare a thought for technical education on A-levels results day.
Read the full piece here.
Following the Prime Minister's criminal justice reforms, Charlotte Pickles, Director of the Reform think tank, was quoted in The Financial Times giving her analysis of the proposals.
In the piece she argued that the “aggregate sum of these announcements is clearly electioneering. It’s true that the public is worried about crime, but this looks like a thinly-veiled attempt to get back to being seen as the party of law and order”.
Read the full piece here.
Commenting on the Prime Minister’s announcement to increase prison sentences and bolster stop and search, Charlotte Pickles, Director of the Reform think tank, said:
“Boris Johnson’s criminal justice reforms are a monumental waste of money. His proposed sentencing reforms ignore evidence that shows that longer prison sentences are ineffective at deterring crime or reducing reoffending.
“His unequivocal embrace of stop and search is dumbfounding – research shows it does little to prevent violence.
“Intelligent investment is clearly need, but these pledges are costly election baubles, not a serious attempt to make this country safer.”
Covered by various outlets including The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, Public Finance and Yahoo News. Charlotte was also interviewed by talkRADIO and LBC.
New data published today by NHS England shows patients attended A&E in record numbers this July, whilst waiting lists for hospital treatment are out of control, up 20% in a month.
Commenting, Reform think tank Health Policy lead, Claudia Martinez, said:
“Nobody should be surprised that patients are flocking to A&E when they see no alternative. A third of patients can’t book a same day appointment with their GP, while around 90% aren’t aware of any out-of-hours services.
“The solution is a primary care system that keeps people out of A&E. Illness isn’t constrained to working hours, so GPs need to provide care when patients need it – which requires investment. It’s ridiculous that only 6% of the £1.8bn promised to the NHS this week is earmarked for primary care. The Government needs to urgently rethink its approach.”
Covered in the The Financial Times (£).
Claudia Martinez, Research Manager at Reform, wrote an article in Mental Health Today about how technology can revolutionise mental health care but it is imperative that people are put at the centre.
Read the article here.
Commenting benefit cap statistics published the Department for Work and Pensions today, Director of the Reform think tank, Charlotte Pickles, said:
“The benefit cap was rightly introduced to make the welfare state fairer – ensuring that those on benefits did not receive more than the average working family. But these figures show the cap has gone too far.
The double whammy of reducing the cap to £20,000 and freezing benefits is causing unacceptable hardship for the most vulnerable in society. The welfare system must be fair for taxpayers, but it must also reduce, not increase, poverty. If the Government wants to cut the welfare bill, they should look at the millions being handed to wealthy pensioners.”