This publication gives a voice to a range of commentators from the third sector, academia, government and others operating in the criminal justice system. Their contributions highlight several reasons why prisons and probation services might benefit from volunteers and partnerships with the voluntary sector.
Despite the sustained success of the British labour market, workers feel increasingly insecure. This is partly due to the increased financial consequences of losing employment today. At present, neither the state nor the private market provides an adequate response to this. This report argues that government, in cooperation with the private sector, can and should provide a safety net for the vulnerable middle class to counteract this trend.
The Social Market and its Enemies: A new philosophy for Brown? explores the origins of the social market; how the social market view of the world has evolved since the foundation of the SMF; the enemies of the social market; and the characteristics that distinguish social marketeers.
This essay argues that those who benefit from globalisation need to contribute much more positively to the life chances of those who do not. If such social relations are to be expressed through government, politicians will have to undertake a significant and difficult re-evaluation of existing public institutions and spending priorities.
The New Demographics: Reshaping the world of work and retirement analyses a number of false assumptions which underlie our thinking about retirement and calls for a radical overhaul of employment and leadership models that will allow people to continue working past retirement age.
This publication examines the next steps in modernising public sector pay. A major finding of the paper is that greater equity of service provision will rely on increased local variation in public sector pay within a national pay bargaining framework. Private firms with large numbers of outlets have sophisticated gradations of regional pay. The public sector should adopt a similar model if London and the South East are to avoid a serious shortage of key public sector workers.
This publication is a result of a seminar held in December 2006, which brought together some of the most important minds from within the sector to discuss whether a sustainable responsible lending policy is required in response to the difficulties over personal debt.
In this paper, the Social Market Foundation’s first publication from 1989, Robert Sidelsky discusses the use of the phrase ‘social market economy’. It signifies a choice in favour of the market economy. The author stated that it means we turn to the market as a first resort and the government as a last resort, not the other way round.
This paper outlines the findings of an SMF seminar, held in July 2003, and includes a restatement of the presentations given, a summary of the main points that emerged from discussion, and an attempt to draw all of this together to make some tentative conclusions.
The growth of regulation in Britain since the 1980s has been haphazard but immense, spawning a profession of its own. Criticisms about costs and excessive ‘red tape’ are familiar. However, recently, broader concerns have been expressed about service failures, particularly in railways and energy networks.
These background papers provide an extensive review of the literature on different aspects of health policy – from the implications of ageing to the reformed provider market in the NHS. Intended as an introduction for the general reader these papers also identify the key challenges facing the health system and suggest areas for further research. The SMF Health Project will be building on these background papers and publishing a series of reports on key aspects of health policy before a final publication in 2009.
At the 60th anniversary of the NHS, the SMF has brought together a range of stakeholders in the health service
Demand for health services has outstripped the capacity available to meet it since the foundation of the National Health Service (NHS). Each new generation of politicians discovers this afresh – although their response is conditioned by their own particular ideological standpoint. However, in reality, the increase in funding has only allowed the NHS to ‘catch up’, in Wanless’ phrase, raising health spending to a level of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) similar to that of our European neighbours.
Following recent controversies over the availability of expensive drugs on the NHS, NICE’s work in allocating the NHS’s spending on medical treatments is coming under increasing scrutiny. In this essay, Professor Paul Dolan challenges the methodology used by NICE to determine the cost-effectiveness of different treatments.
Putting patients In Control argues that it is time to end the institutional divide between health and social care that currently prevents self-direction being introduced into the NHS. It proposes the use of individual budgets for patients with long-term chronic conditions, such as mental illness and diabetes. This would give patients greater choice of treatment and allow them to develop their own package of care, mixing clinical and alternative therapies to meet their individual needs.
General Health Co-operative (GHC) in Seattle has sold its last hospital. In future GHC will provide healthcare to over 600,000 people by using hospitals belonging to other organisations. Outside healthcare this would not be seen as a radical idea; airlines often do not own the aircraft they use and department stores lease space to other retailers. But in hospital care the buildings and the history associated with them have been seen as inseparable from the service.
This pamphlet sets out the context and methodology for the Social Market Foundation's two year Health Project, The Future of Healthcare.
This publication, the result of a conference convened by the Social Market Foundation in June 2006, brings together some of the most expert and considered voices in the field to explore the contentious issues around the major themes dominating the health policy debate.
In 2005, the Social Market Foundation, in partnership with Bright Horizons Family Solutions, hosted two seminars exploring the implications of the government’s 10 Year Strategy for childcare in the UK. This publication summarises the discussions which took place, representing an important contribution to the ongoing discussions around the Strategy.
This report outlines the current pattern of co-payment in the UK and debates whether there is a case for introducing or extending co-payment into new areas of public service provision. It considers the economic rationale and the principles that should underpin the use of co-payment in UK public services, in particular the impact on equity.
This paper examines the case for introducing certain kinds of choice into the primary care sector of the NHS.
In this essay, published in January 2005, Secretary of State for Health Dr John Reid MP sets out the case for extending patient choice within the NHS.
This publication reviews the arguments presented by experts during a seminar held by the SMF in October 2004 on the promotion of public choice amongst those with special needs or limited capabilities.
Patients have had the right to choose a GP since 1948. Yet for most of us, this right is little more than hypothetical. In this report, Professor Paul Corrigan, former Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Health, explains why our primary care sector has reached this point and what reforms the Government should implement to address the problem.
Written in the light of the fifth report of the Shipman enquiry, the essays tackle the question of whether the regulatory bodies for health care professionals have been reformed sufficiently or whether they still require a lot of change before they generate trust and confidence.
In this report, the Health Commission reviews the main attractions of social insurance schemes, including greater consumer responsiveness, choice and transparency.
This collection of essays brings together different perspectives on the public health debate, seeking to find the balance between state intervention and individual responsibility.
This paper, presented by the SMF Health Commission, reviews the case for user charges in health care.
This paper addresses the challenge of constructing and justifying a ‘core package’ of NHS services that would bring significant benefits.
This report argues that the analysis of the role private payments could play in UK health care has often been hindered by over-simplistic ideological views.
This collection of essays puts forward the arguments for and against relaxing the rules on direct to patient communication, with contributions from David Colin-Thome, Nicholas Bosanquet and Angela Coulter.
This publication explores user charges, revealing a system lacking all logic. It argues that the current cluster of systems perpetuates injustice, distorts medical priorities and hinders access to vital treatment.
Average house prices have doubled in the last decade. Demand for housing has outstripped supply to such an extent that housing has become a national policy priority for the Brown government, as well as a staple topic of conversation at dinner parties.
In this publication, all parties consider the role that government and business can play in pushing forward employee volunteering.
This report argues that the growth of the privately rented sector over the previous fifteen years has been a major success and that success has been driven primarily by market forces.
In this essay, published in 2004, Paul Richards observes that voter disengagement, particularly among the urban working class, is effectively bringing about the reversal of the Reform Acts.
As scientific discovery and technology, from vaccines and GM crops to the internet and mobile phones, drive forward our society, policy makers are confronted with the increasingly difficult issue of how to communicate scientific ideas, and the benefits and risks associated with them, to the public. This collection of transcripts highlights the main issues surrounding this debate, as well as making recommendations for improving communication for policy makers, the media, scientists and the public.
This publication sets out the argument for the introduction of ‘genre’ licences, providing commercial broadcasters with the opportunity to bid for financial support to provide specific public service broadcasting (PSB) programming, specifically news programmes, paid for by ‘top-slicing’ the BBC licence fee.
In this publication Gavyn Davies argues, from an economic standpoint that the BBC should be retained in its standard form after its Charter renewal of 2006 despite changes in the broadcasting market brought about by digital technology.
The education of 14-19 year-olds is one of the biggest political debates of our time. The Brown government is legislating to raise the age at which young people leave compulsory education or training. Major reforms for qualifications are planned from later in 2008.
Disabled people represent one-fifth of the working age population, but are far more likely to be out of work and to lack skills than the population as a whole. Improving skills and employment for disabled people matters not just for equality, but also for national prosperity and delivering world-class skills and employment.
Practical learning is central to transforming the life chances of young people and adults, and to the prosperity of the nation. This collection of essays bring together some of the foremost thinkers in this field to look at the evidence and the challenges facing policymakers.
This publication explores educational reforms that aim to place greater control in the hands of parents and increase choice within the school system, arguing they risk overlooking Looked After Children, or even increasing current disadvantage. This paper addresses this issue by setting out a system of financial incentives that give “corporate parents” the same power and interest in their children's education as any other parent.
The government has rightly invested a significant amount of resources into improving the early years’ experiences of the most socio-economically disadvantaged children in the country. Yet evidence suggests that some of the benefits of preschool can be lost during later childhood if they are not consolidated. In this research, we explain how primary schools can play a crucial role in sustaining the social and academic gains provided by early years’ interventions.
This report outlines the current pattern of co-payment in the UK and debates whether there is a case for introducing or extending co-payment into new areas of public service provision. It considers the economic rationale and the principles that should underpin the use of co-payment in UK public services, in particular the impact on equity.
This publication presents an examination of how choice might work in secondary education. Importantly, the case it presents considers what might be achieved in terms of increased quality, but also considers what the impact might be in terms of equity.
This paper formed part of an extensive project at the Social Market Foundation, which explored the contribution of early years to improving the life chances of disadvantaged children and their families.
This report, produced by an internal SMF Commission, proposes ballots as a means of allocating places in oversubscribed schools.
Despite unprecedented levels of investments, education has failed to break the link between attainment and family background. Too Much, Too Late argues that this will not change significantly as long as the pattern of spending on education and training continues to offer a far greater public subsidy to tertiary than preschool education.
An essay by Simon Linnett, Executive Vice Chairman of Rothschild. The essay asserts that carbon trading will be one of the most effective methods to combat climate change, since it allows the private sector to play a major role. The author argues that a global authority will be required to regulate carbon trading schemes, and that national governments must necessarily cede some of their sovreignity to this body. Finally, Mr Linnett suggests that as a global financial centre, London would be the natural choice to house a newly constituted World Environment Agency.
This paper provides a critique of the government’s 2006 Energy Review, focusing on the continuing gaps between the current position as represented by the Review and the requirements of a credible energy policy.
This report calls on the government to introduce a new 'Green Buildings' property tax relief to encourage businesses to cut the carbon footprint of their properties.
In this publication Dr Dieter Helm argues that energy policy should adapt to reflect the new security priorities of supply and climate change.
This publication, the result of a conference convened by the Social Market Foundation in June 2006, brings together some of the most expert and considered voices in the field to explore the contentious issues around the major themes dominating the health policy debate.
Without effective use of information, public service delivery is slow, inefficient and expensive. Yet, until recently, improving the government’s use of information had not been a priority. However, with increasing expectations among the public for more convenient and joined up public services, the government has realised that more and better information sharing is the key to efficient and cost effective government.
This report outlines the current pattern of co-payment in the UK and debates whether there is a case for introducing or extending co-payment into new areas of public service provision. It considers the economic rationale and the principles that should underpin the use of co-payment in UK public services, in particular the impact on equity.
Patients have had the right to choose a GP since 1948. Yet for most of us, this right is little more than hypothetical. In this report, Professor Paul Corrigan, former Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Health, explains why our primary care sector has reached this point and what reforms the Government should implement to address the problem.
This report is a thorough examination of the government’s use of targets in four public services: education, health, housing and the criminal justice system.
In this volume, several junior ministers argue that reform of public services is the natural concomitant of equity and efficiency and set out the direction of future travel.
Ten years has passed since the publication of Osborne and Gaebler’s landmark book Reinventing Government. Thus, in 2004, the Social Market Foundation published a reflection on the ten principles for entrepreneurial government that were set out in the original.
This report provides an evidence-based analysis of the effects of choice systems in public services.
AntiSocial Britain is critical of politicians of all parties for attempting - and failing - to appease consumerism instead of arguing for citizenship, and for accepting a range of social responsibilities which they cannot fulfil.
The Politics of Aspiration brings together valuable contributions from Jim Murphy MP, Trevor Phillips, Chair, Commission for Equality and Human Rights, Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks and several other commentators and academics o¬n the importance of aspiration as a driving force in ending poverty and increasing social mobility in the UK.
To achieve full employment over the next decade requires a fresh approach to welfare to work. This paper recommends that workless people be given a virtual budget – a personal employment account – instead of being enrolled in the current New Deal. This account, based on a similar initiative being piloted in seven states in the US, would be used far more flexibly for a far wider range of support.
This publication, the result of a conference convened by the Social Market Foundation in July 2006, brings together some of the most expert and considered voices in the field to explore the contentious issues around the major themes dominating the regional casino debate: regeneration and responsible gambling.
This paper formed part of an extensive project at the Social Market Foundation, which explored the contribution of early years to improving the life chances of disadvantaged children and their families.
This pamphlet is a speech delivered to the Social Market Foundation on February 3rd 2003 by Gordon Brown, in which he sets out his agenda for prosperity and social reform.
Road User Charging: A road map, sets out the important decisions government will have to take if it chooses to implement road user charging. It highlights the trade-offs between efficiency, public acceptability and equity, and provides a road map for moving the debate on road pricing from the why to the how.
Nearly 20 per cent of traffic on UK roads during the morning rush hour is on the school run and it is increasing every year. To tackle this problem, this paper argues that we should introduce a dedicated school bus network of the type used in North America.
In this pamphlet, Professor Begg reviews how far the Government has come, what has really been achieved and what can be done in the future to revive our transport network.
To achieve full employment over the next decade requires a fresh approach to welfare to work. This paper recommends that workless people be given a virtual budget – a personal employment account – instead of being enrolled in the current New Deal. This account, based on a similar initiative being piloted in seven states in the US, would be used far more flexibly for a far wider range of support.
Published just before the long awaited Pensions Commission report on the future of pensions, this publication explores how pension compulsion might have been best implemented in order to meet the challenges facing the UK pension system.
This report is a product of the 2005 SMF Internal Commission examining the UK's system of Incapacity Benefit.
This paper sets out the 2005 SMF working group on pension compulsion's initial discussions and preliminary agendas.
Evidence suggest that experiencing some form of employment or work experience is the most effective way of getting low skilled young people into permanent employment. This report analyses the effectiveness of work experience, training and employment schemes provided by the private sector for a particularly vulnerable group of low skilled youth: young offenders and young people at risk of offending.
In this publication, Peter Lilley argues that compulsion is the only real solution to Britain’s pension’s crisis.
Many of the major challenges facing society today require that individuals change their behaviour. However, policies introduced so far have had mixed results. The proportion of the population classified as obese continues to grow, despite the significant provision of information on the health risks this brings and the diet and activity needed to avoid it. People continue to save too little for their old age, although numerous financial and other incentives have been deployed to promote saving. Despite high-profile campaigns on the harmful effects of human activity on the environment, individual behaviour to address climate change has not shifted as quickly as policymakers have hoped.
AntiSocial Britain is critical of politicians of all parties for attempting - and failing - to appease consumerism instead of arguing for citizenship, and for accepting a range of social responsibilities which they cannot fulfil.
Writing on topics as diverse as the future of the EU, welfare reform, direct democracy, and social markets, the contributors address head on the questions which will define the future direction of the Party: the appropriate role of the state; the strengths and limitations of markets; and strengthening civil society.
This report outlines the findings of the Business Forum: Regulatory Best Practice Group, which canvassed views from the business community on the difficulties they face in dealing with the institutions of the government.
This paper outlines three perspectives on what role the state should play where the management of personal finances is concerned.