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 statistics published today by the Ministry of Justice, Director of the Reform think tank Charlotte Pickles, said:
“These figures continue to show unacceptably high levels of violence and self-harm in our prisons.
Our new Prime Minister has presented himself as tough on crime. But the most effective way to cut crime is to reduce reoffending. That means investing in prison safety and rehabilitation to help offenders turn their lives around.
It also means keeping prison as a last resort. Reoffending costs society £18bn a year. It would be a grave and costly mistake to not proceed with David Gauke’s proposal to scrap short-term prison sentences, which exacerbate reoffending.”
This was covered in the Financial Times, Public Finance and OZY.
Josh Pritchard, Researcher at Reform, was quoted in an article by Public Finance about Labour's outsourcing proposals. He argued that Labour's proposed "insourcing revolution" is largely redundant and fails to address key concerns about job losses and cost effectiveness.
Read the full article here.
Charlotte Pickles, Director of Reform, appeared on Politics Live to discuss the latest policy news including No-Deal Brexit developments and apprenticeships.
Commenting on the 8% increase in knife crime offences, Director of the Reform think tank Charlotte Pickles, said:
“The continuing rise in knife crime is tragic, but not surprising. Until politicians take seriously the need to invest in prevention alongside enforcement, more young people will continue to die on our cities’ streets.
Any increases in police numbers must be targeted and coupled with serious investment to tackle the lethal mix of poverty, school exclusion, poor mental health and drugs. It’s astonishing that both Tory leadership candidates think that pledging thousands more bobbies is enough.”
Data also published today shows that fewer than one in 10 crimes result in a charge.
The think tank is calling for a portion of the resources being promised to the police by Tory leadership candidates to be spent on back-office support, analysts and bolstering digital forensics capabilities to improve outcomes. It argues that more officers should only be deployed to specific high crime areas.
Covered by BBC News, The Independent, The Mirror and The Express, among other publications. Charlotte was also quoted in the Financial Times and OXY's coverage of the statistics.
Reform Researcher Imogen Farhan wrote an op-ed for Inside Housing arguing that Discretionary Housing Payments are not a long-term solution to the housing crisis. Read it here.
Reform is delighted to announce that James Palmer has been appointed as Chair of trustees, succeeding Stephen Hargrave.
James has been a trustee of Reform for several years. James is Chair and Senior Partner of the international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills. He also currently chairs the Legal Services Group of TheCityUK, the body representing UK financial and professional services, and is a member of TheCityUK's Advisory Board and Senior Brexit Steering Group. Throughout his career James has also been involved in working on public policy initiatives, including improving regulation, its effectiveness and policy outcomes.
The team and trustees would like to express their thanks to Stephen Hargrave for his tremendous commitment to Reform over 15 years.
James Palmer said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as Chair of Reform's trustees. I am particularly looking forward to working with Charlie, who we appointed earlier this year as the Director of Reform, and with the rest of the team.
“I have long believed in Reform's mission of better and smarter public service outcomes, achieved through evidence-based independent research analysis and ideas. It is through this that Reform contributes to real improvements in people’s lives, and to honesty in debate about sustainable solutions. At a time when politics in the UK is particularly short-termist, Reform is superbly placed to have a positive impact on policy thinking and implementation.
“I would like to thank Stephen Hargrave, my predecessor as Chair of the trustees, for his quiet and unsung contribution to Reform, from its earliest days. We are very grateful for his time and support.”
Eleonora Harwich, Director of Research and Head of Digital and Tech Innovation, was mentioned in Macau Daily Times, on the topic of Amazon and NHS England joining forces to help patients get information about illnesses via Amazon's Alexa.
Read the full article here.
Eleonora Harwich, Director of Research and Head of Digital and Tech Innovation, was quoted in a Bloomberg Opinion piece on topic of Amazon and NHS England joining forces to help patients get information about illnesses via Amazon's Alexa.
"One public benefit would be to get more people to access official professional advice rather than make do with the rumors and misinformation that swamp social media, according to Eleonora Harwich, director of research at Reform, a public sector think tank."
Read the full article here.
Commenting on the Public Accounts Committee’s Stonehenge Tunnel report, Reform Procurement lead, Dr Joshua Pritchard, said:
“The ‘at-risk’ £2.4bn Stonehenge Tunnel is a worrying example of Government’s inability to think long-term about how it funds major infrastructure projects.
The short-sighted decision to reject private finance schemes without any sort of replacement funding in place has left this and other projects in perpetual limbo, with contractors unwilling to bid for multi-million pound building contracts without know who’ll be footing the bill. PFI had been problematic, but a new approach to private funding should have been put in place before pulling the plug on crucial projects across the UK or expecting Government Departments to magic funds out of thin air.”
Covered by the Salisbury Journal.
On Friday 28 June, the National Audit Office released a report on 'Tackling serious and organised crime', highlighting "inefficient and uncertain" funding arrangements. Commenting on the report, Reform researcher Aidan Shilson-Thomas said:
“Candidates vying to become Prime Minister need to think about what resources the police need to tackle crime in 2019 and pledging to introduce an arbitrary target for more officers is not the answer. This is a complex challenge as organised crime is increasingly hidden and borderless. Bolstering law enforcement’s use of data and capability to tackle online threats must be a priority.”
This statement was covered by Public Finance.
Dr. Joshua Pritchard, Researcher at Reform, wrote an article for the July edition of Public Sector Focus, addressing the potential benefits of allowing citizens to access government services using voice-assisted technologies, such as Amazon's Alexa and Google Home.
You can read the piece here.
Dr. Joshua Pritchard, Researcher at Reform, wrote an article for Public Sector Executive, addressing the potential benefits of incorporating Social Value into the government's outsourcing and contracting decisions.
"To seize opportunities to create social value, the Cabinet Office must draw on their expertise and ensure that appropriate training and existing guidance is used to support the roll-out of the new requirements."
You can read the full piece here.
On 25 June 2019, Reform Senior Researcher Dr. Luke Heselwood appeared on BBC Three Counties Radio, responding to the Sutton Trust/Social Mobility Commission's report into the educational backgrounds of the members of Britain's top professions.
He addressed the structural injustices which obstruct access to prestigious jobs for disadvantaged members of society, and suggested measures which could be taken to improve the equity of Britain's educational system.
You can listen to the full interview here (1:35:00 onwards).
On Monday 24 June, The Sutton Trust published a report in partnership with the Social Mobility Commission, addressing the dominance of privately-educated individuals in top professions. Dr. Luke Heselwood, Senior Researcher at Reform, said:
“These scandalous figures show that the UK is far from being a meritocracy. Fixing this will require serious reform to the education system as, despite improvements, the most advantaged are nearly 10 times more likely to attend elite universities than the most disadvantaged. If candidates vying to become Prime Minster are serious about giving equal opportunity to all, they must focus on raising the attainment of disadvantaged school pupils so they can apply to elite universities. Top universities must also embrace contextualised admissions and offer more support to students to help them to succeed.”
This statement was covered by The Guardian, The Sun, Huffington Post, ITV and Indy 100.
On 19 June 2019, new data from St. Mungo's Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain) showed an all-time high in rough sleeping in London. Commenting on the new data, Dr. Luke Heselwood, Senior Researcher at Reform and co-author of 'Preventing Youth Homelessness', said:
“The Government’s flagship homelessness legislation is failing the most vulnerable in society. Rather than waiting until people are on the streets, a preventative approach is needed. This will require a multi-agency response and long-term funding to support London boroughs facing increasing pressures."
This statement was covered by The Big Issue.