cadence comments about policy

22 Jun 2010

Centre for Welfare Reform

Sheffield may have had a bad few days, with the 100 million of cuts announced last week still being digested. That is not to say that it is all doom and gloom, with it seeming to be a place where a lot of interesting thinking is going on at the moment ... more

5 Nov 2009

Innovation Charter ?

A joint ippr/RSA event 'After the downturn' took place in Newcastle this week at the The Pukka Pie Arena or whatever St James' Park is called this week. Speakers John Tomaney, Deborah Jenkins, Sir George Russell all had interesting things to say, but it was Matthew Taylor of the RSA who shook things up. He descirbed the final report of the Commission on public sector reform 'a decent bit of work', but that it had a 'if only feel to it' ... more

2 Nov 2009

Public service paradox

ippr north has published the final report of the Commission on public sector reform in the North East. It is called Public service paradox ... more

30 Sep 2009

It'll look alright when it is washed

There is a barber in Liverpool with a sign above his shop that says 'it'll look alright when it is washed'. How will local authorities look in a few years after their cuts? How are local authorities preparing for cuts in their budgets? How should they prepare and is there a smart way to make cuts? Should departments be selling themselves and making sure everyone knows what great work they are doing ... more

23 Sep 2009

Ken Dodd and President Sarkozy

I hope that 'When you go to measuring my success that you don't count my money count my happiness'. Not President Sarkozy, Joseph Stiglitz or Richard Layard, but Knotty Ash's Ken Dodd who appears to have suggested in 1964 that measuring GDP alone was not the answer ... more

8 Sep 2009

Innovation and half empty-full glasses

There seem to be two main public policy approaches emerging to deal with the recession and impending public spending cuts. One is optimistic, the other less so, or as someone once said to me 'less glass half full, more glass smashed on the floor and shards stuck in foot' ... more

26 Jun 2009

Public service reform - history and the RSA

The RSA's 2020 Public Services Trust has started to publish papers. One of the first is a Brief history of public service reform and it is a good read. It is one of three papers under the banner of 'scoping the challenges'. It outlines what they call a new settlement ... more

12 Jun 2009

Central-local relations and trust

The new Communities and Local Government Secretary John Denham has pledged to 're-examine the relationship between central and local government as part of the Government's drive to renew Britain's democracy and restore trust in the political system at every level'.

20 Apr 2009

War on anti-social behaviour - Conservative policies

In a recent speech by Chris Grayling, Conservative Shadow Home Secretary, he said that 'Changing what we have called the broken society will be a long and difficult process. But one step we can take quickly is to go to war on antisocial behaviour' ... more

3 Mar 2009

Innovation and recession and the RSA

There are some fears that the recession endangers innovative approaches to public service delivery. Matthew Taylor of the RSA makes the opposing point well this week in his must-read blog ... more