The Week, 7 March 2017
This week, the Justice Select Committee published a report on empowering prison governors, measuring prison performance and enabling successful commissioning. The report quoted Reform research on the topic, and echoed themes at our annual criminal justice conference last week.
Emilie Sundorph, Researcher
Reformer of the week…
The Justice Select Committee, for focusing on the issues above.
Reactionary of the week…
The Opposition, for proposing to allocate a suggested tax revenue from VAT on independent school fees to universal free school meals, instead of targeting any additional funding at the most disadvantaged pupils.
Good week for…
Women’s history
On Sunday, the Government announced that Millicent Fawcett will be the first woman to be commemorated with a statue in Parliament Square.
National well-being
On Thursday, the Office for National Statistics published annual well-being statistics, which have improved on 15 indicators since last year, and only deteriorated on two.
Radical suggestions for social care reform
On Thursday, Sir Andrew Dilnot suggested that pensioner benefits can be reduced to provide funding for the social care system.
Bad week for…
A long-term strategy
On Wednesday, The House of Lords Select Committee on the Long-term Sustainability of the NHS concluded that a culture of short-termism seems to prevail in the NHS and adult social care.
Organisations with gender pay gaps
On Thursday, the Government’s requirement for employers of more than 250 people to report their gender pay gaps came into force.
Equality in prison
On Sunday, a report concluded that procedures for investigating discrimination allegations in prisons are not meeting the duties of the 2010 Equality Act.
Quotes of the Week
“It shames us all that children go to school hungry. But wasting money that could have fed them is nothing to be proud of either, which is why evidence matters. What cast-iron proof is there that free school meals for kids—even if they don’t need them—works better than less eye-catching targeted solutions, such as breakfast clubs, schemes that feed kids through the holidays when school meals stop, or automatically linking benefits to the free school meals system to scoop up parents who are entitled but don’t claim?”
Gaby Hinsliff, in The Guardian on Thursday
“Local government, for example, is ripe for renewal. It is often seen by voters as stagnant and irrelevant. In reality, councillors can often do more than MPs to effect change in people’s day-to-day lives. This misperception may be about to change. Next month, directly elected mayors will be voted into office for the first time, representing some of the country’s most significant regions. In Liverpool, Manchester and the West Midlands, the mayors will run combined local authorities with expanded spending powers. The election of these “metro mayors” is a chance to strengthen voters’ relationship with government.”
Financial Times leader on Sunday
“There is a worrying absence of a credible strategy to encourage the uptake of innovation and technology at scale across the NHS. It is not clear who is ultimately responsible for driving innovation and ensuring consistency in the assessment and the adoption of new technological approaches. The provision of appropriate training and development of strong leaders to support this agenda within the NHS will be critical to its success.”
The Long-term Sustainability of the NHS and Adult Social Care, published by The House of Lords Select Committee on the Long-term Sustainability of the NHS on Wednesday