The Week, 9 March 2018
This week the Ministry of Justice announced a modern approach to prison reform and plans to tackle reoffending. NHS leaders also set out a practical step they are taking to reform services so that patients receive integrated care, starting on 1 April.
Daniel El-Gamry, Researcher
Reformer of the week
David Gauke MP, Justice Secretary, for putting forward a bold vision of how modern prisons should work and launching a cross-government effort to tackle the root causes of reoffending.
Good week for…
NHS reform
On Monday, Sir Ian Dalton, Chief Executive of NHS Improvement, told the Public Accounts Committee that the NHS is implementing reforms to integrate services from next month.
Digital SMEs
On Tuesday, the government announced that G-Cloud 10 would go live in June. The procurement framework allows small businesses in the digital sector to list services they offer to government.
Pensioners
Also on Tuesday, research showed that falls in poverty amongst pensioners have outstripped the overall population for the past five decades.
Bad week for…
Local government finance
On Thursday, the NAO published a report showing that contingency funds were being used by councils to fund local services.
Baby boomers
On Monday, there were calls to tax their wealth more to fund public services. On Wednesday, it was revealed alcohol-related deaths amongst them had risen by 45 per cent and drug-related deaths by 100 per cent in the last decade.
Health inequalities
On Wednesday, data showed women in Middlesbrough have 35 fewer years of healthy life expectancy than women in Waverly.
Quotes of the week
“One of the great strategic goals of the twenty-first century should be the full political, social and economic empowerment of women.”
Lord Hague, Former Foreign Secretary, in The Daily Telegraph, on Thursday.
“It is absolutely right that we need to integrate services; that is something that is increasingly recognised right across the NHS… we have agreed system control totals with the 10 integrated care systems that are looking to go live on 1 April. That will give them an opportunity to respond to new models of patient care with new financial incentives – incentives to collaborate and work together, rather than to compete and protect different budgets.”
Sir Ian Dalton, Chief Executive, NHS Improvement, to the Public Accounts committee, on Monday.
“I am clear that offenders go to prison as punishment, not for punishment. So, I want prisons to be places of humanity, hope and aspiration. I want prisoners to know that there is a route to a better life…”
David Gauke MP, in his first major speech as Justice Secretary, also on Tuesday.
Reform’s Week
Reformer Blog
On Wednesday, Andrew Haldenby, Director of Reform, wrote a blog highlighting the implications of research on the digital engagement of citizens with government.
Media
On Wednesday, Maisie Borrows, Researcher at Reform, wrote an article in Progress explaining how blockchain technology could enable a better identity model to be used both at our border and in other public services.
On Monday, the Public Accounts Committee published evidence Reform submitted to its inquiry on sustainability and transformation in the NHS.
Upcoming Events
Reform will be hosting a roundtable event on Tuesday, led by Ben Wallace MP, Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime, to discuss the future of fraud prevention, in partnership with Cifas. On Thursday, an event on “Choosing success: capturing business views on key contingencies in Brexit negotiations”, will be held in partnership with Weber Shandwick and City of London.