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 National Audit Office’s annual report on the financial sustainability of the NHS, Andrew Haldenby, Director of the independent public services think tank, Reform, said:
“The NHS has used extra money for day-to-day pressures rather than to change and become more efficient. Ministers hope that their new plan will be different, especially because some money is ringfenced for GPs and cannot be used to finance hospital deficits.”
Commenting on today’s study from the Institute for Government, Dr Luke Heselwood, Senior Researcher at Reform think tank and co-author of the report ‘Smarter Working in Public Services: The HMRC experience so far’, said:
“Retention of staff has consistently been a problem facing the civil service. Recent research from Reform shows that the civil service can offer a better work-life balance, enhance productivity and improve retention by doing things such as promoting flexible working.”
Andrew Haldenby, Director of Reform, was interviewed for The Economist to discuss the NHS Long Term Plan. The full article can be found here (£).
But Andrew Haldenby of Reform, a think-tank, says that progress in most existing icss has been slow. Change is rarely brought about by “bureaucratic exhortation”, he notes.
Responding to the final report of Shelter’s commission on the future of social housing, Dr Luke Heselwood, Senior Researcher at Reform think tank, said:
“A lack of social housing has contributed to England’s homelessness crisis. However, homelessness is not just about housing and public services need to work together to tackle its root causes, including mental health problems and family breakdown.”
Andrew Haldenby, Director of Reform, appeared on BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme to discuss the NHS Long Term Plan. He argued that the NHS was in a similar place five years ago, with an influx of money and a five-year plan. We are in a similar position today and yet not enough reform has happened in that period.
Nevertheless, the NHS's long-term plan is good and focuses on the right areas such as prevention and moving into primary care. But political leadership needs to be strong to hold NHS authorities to account, and progress made should be extremely clear throughout the process, not just at the end of the ten-year period.
You can listen to the show again here.
Commenting on statistics published by the ONS today, Reform Researcher, Imogen Farhan, said:
“Public services need to work together to tackle the root causes of what makes a person homeless, including substance abuse and mental health problems. Contrary to Theresa May’s statement yesterday, there is more to tackling homelessness than just building more houses.”
This statement was covered in the Southend Echo.
Commenting on official statistics from UCAS highlighting that universities are accepting more students with lower grades, Reform Researcher, Dr Luke Heselwood, said:
"Although the number of students with lower grades being accepted by universities is on the rise, these figures focus on the sector as a whole.
Reform research shows that top universities are all but failing to improve access for the most disadvantaged students because, on average, they do not achieve the required A level grades, compared with their more advantaged peers."
To accompany the launch of Reform's report 'Making NHS data work for everyone' report author and Reform Director of Research, Eleonora Harwich, wrote an article for the Health Service Journal on the need for a national strategy to harness the value of healthcare data. It is available here.
Andrew Haldenby, Reform Director, was quoted in Financial Times in an article on private sector outsourcing. The full article can be found here (£).
Andrew Haldenby, chief executive of Reform, a public services think-tank, supported the government’s decision. “It’s entirely possible for the government to drive the sector completely out of business and that would be a mistake given the benefits of public competition in public services and the innovation that new providers can deliver.”
Reform Director, Andrew Haldenby, was quoted in The Sunday Times, discussing GP appointments.
Andrew Haldenby, director of the think tank Reform, argues that patients as well as doctors have to adjust their priorities: “When we phone a GP surgery, we shouldn’t expect to see a GP every time.” He believes more one-stop shops with nurses, physios, dentists, pharmacists and GPs working in concert could halve doctors’ appointments without risk to the patient.
To read the full article, click here.
To accompany the launch of Reform's report 'Gaining Access: Increasing the participation of disadvantaged students at elite universities', Dr Luke Heselwood wrote an article for FE News titled 'Three Steps to Better Measures: Increasing the participation of disadvantaged students'. Read the full article here.
On Wednesday 28 October, Reform launched its report, Gaining Access: Increasing the participation of disadvantaged students at elite universities. The report was covered in The Times, The Guardian, The Times Education Supplement and FE News.
Eleonora Harwich, Director of Research and Head of Digital and Tech Innovation, was quoted in Financial Times in an article about the use of facial recognition in South Wales Police. The full article (£) can be found here.
Eleonora Harwich, director of research at Reform, a think-tank, warned against seeing tech as a “magical solution that will implement itself”.
“As highlighted [in the report], tech should be seen as enhancing human capabilities not replacing them,” Ms Harwich said. “Developing a strong evidence base around the effectiveness of these types of tools is crucial.”
Commenting on today’s HMICFRS report, Reform Research Manager Claudia Martinez said:
“Despite painting a dire picture of the challenges facing mental health services nationally the renewed focus on prevention, early intervention and specialised mental health training for the police are necessary to ensure that the service has the capacity to fulfil its task of ensuring public safety and that people experiencing a mental health crisis receive the support they deserve.
The government’s commitment to invest £2bn in mental health services and the new funding allocated to liaison mental health teams and community-based crisis resolution services, are steps in the right direction. Yet, without a radical rethink of the system, the NHS risks finding itself once again in a "sticking plaster" situation.”
Disruption Hub wrote an article on the convergence of AI and Blockchain in Healthcare. Part of it covered the Healthcare Unblocked event which Reform's Eleonora Harwich spoke at.
"The merits of a ‘decentralised patient centric’ system in the NHS was the focus of some discussion. Eleonora Harwich, Director of Research and Head of Digital and Tech innovation at Reformreminded us that many things need to be addressed to make this feasible, including data quality, interoperability and standards."