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Recent Press Releases | 2010 | 2009 | Archive
Media Information: Immediate Release
Springtime for German small business loans while British SMEs stay trapped in credit freeze
Britain should learn from local "savings and enterprise" banks in Germany and Switzerland
The German and Swiss economies are powering ahead of the rest of Europe through superior lending to small and medium sized businesses, according to a new report from independent think tank Civitas. German savings banks and Swiss cantonal banks, lessons for the UK by Stephen L. Clarke, Research Fellow at Civitas, argues that the UK system suffers from a lack of competition and a lack of locally-oriented banks committed to serving the needs of Britain's SMEs.
Mismanaged NHS reform could flatline patient services
PCT 'meltdown' threatens a return to rationing
The wholesale abolition of Primary Care Trusts proposed in the NHS White Paper could have a negative impact on patient care, and should be halted in favour of a more incremental approach to commissioning reform, according to a new report released today by independent think-tank Civitas.
A risky business: the White Paper and the NHS by James Gubb, director of the Civitas health unit, argues that the Government's approach to the latest reorganisation of the health service could undermine hopes of making efficiency gains in many areas of the country, which are crucial if services are to retain the current level of provision.
World calling Ken Clarke: prison reduces crime here too!
Kenneth Clarke, Secretary of State for Justice, has been claiming that crime fell in all developed countries in the 1990s and that it was not the result of increasing the prison population in the UK or elsewhere. Most recently he repeated the claim on Newsnight on Tuesday 30th November. When former Chief Constable, Tim Brain, argued that crime fell as a consequence of doubling the prison population from the mid-1990s onwards, Ken Clarke replied:
Ken Clarke is mistaken. As Civitas' latest briefing shows.
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01 hrs, Friday 12 November 2010
Where did all the noisy children go?
Disruptive pupils disappearing into new 'secret garden' of alternative provision
Widely trumpeted reductions in exclusions from schools are mostly a statistical illusion, according to a new report by independent think tank Civitas. A New Secret Garden?, by Tom Ogg with Emily Kaill, finds that thousands of pupils, many with behavioural difficulties, are shifted to alternative providers and FE colleges. These 'managed moves' and 'referrals' do not show up in official exclusion statistics, even though they often constitute effective exclusion.
The authors argue that permanent exclusion should be abolished, so that pupils must remain on the rolls of mainstream schools. The right of a school to remove a pupil from its site should be recognised, but this must be balanced by giving rights to those excluded pupils to choose what provision replaces their mainstream schooling. Currently, pupils have no right to influence which school they are sent to when they are effectively excluded.
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01 hrs, Thursday 28 October 2010
Small Is Not Always Beautiful
The Coalition Government's proposals to transform commissioning in the NHS flies in the face of international evidence, according to a new report by independent think tank Civitas in conjunction with the Manchester Business School.
The Government intends to replace 152 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) with 'consortia' of general practice, which is likely to lead to a proliferation of much smaller commissioning organisations. The Civitas/Manchester Business School report, GP commissioning: does size matter?, argues that there is little, if any, evidence that smaller organisations are better at commissioning than larger ones. Furthermore, the transition will be costly, almost certainly resulting in a dip in performance in the short to medium term. As a result, the Government's likely move may well harm patient care.
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01 hrs, Saturday 23 October 2010
Green Investment Bank Could Undermine Economic Growth
With the spending review over, the Government needs to focus on economic growth, but already it has taken a false step. The Government's proposed Green Investment Bank (GIB), which is intended to fund low carbon enterprises and pollution reducing investments, is too restricted and as a result will reduce economic growth, says independent think tank Civitas. Instead, a broader Industry Bank should be set up to meet the needs of all British manufacturers, not only the sectors currently in vogue with our political elites. In particular, with gross exports of £179 billion in 2009, the wider manufacturing sector is too valuable to ignore.
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01 hrs, Sunday 17 October 2010
THE FALLACIES, ERRORS AND CONFUSIONS IN THE EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION REPORT, HOW FAIR IS BRITAIN?
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published its first triennial report on Britain's 'progress' towards becoming a 'fairer' society. The report commends the 'progress' we have made in tolerating diversity and endorsing equality, but warns: 'Outcomes for many people are not shifting as far or as fast as they should.' It outlines an 'agenda for fairness' with 15 'aims' all requiring 'corrective action' covering life expectancy, education, employment, crime and politics.
The report rests on two core assumptions. Both are challenged by Professor Peter Saunders, the author of Social Mobility Myths.
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01 hrs, Saturday 16 October 2010
Women and Islam
Head and face coverings should be judged on practicality, not ideology, it is argued in Women, Islam and Western Liberalism, a new report from independent think tank Civitas.
The report presents unmediated views from leading British Muslim women on a wide range of issues that affect them, but about which their opinions are often sidelined. Their testimonies demonstrate that Muslim women are not a homogeneous victimised monolith, as is often depicted. Instead, Muslim women hold a diversity of views about Islam and its relation to western liberalism.
No one collection of essays can provide straightforward answers to the complex issues discussed in Women, Islam and Western Liberalism. However, giving a voice to strong Muslim women with knowledge of Islam can help to sharpen the questions and lead to more informed debate. That is the goal of this publication.
- Full press release
- Women, Islam and Western Liberlism can be purchased from Amazon
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01 hrs, Monday 4 October 2010
Self-serving NHS trusts inhibit better patient care
Patients are being denied potentially better, more timely treatment because of an NHS culture that demands loyalty to the family of NHS hospital providers. Refusing Treatment, by James Gubb and Laura Brereton - based on a one-year study into the relationships between acute trusts and their commissioners - concludes that existing NHS providers use their muscle and connections to keep providing services even when faster, higher quality care is on offer elsewhere.
- Full press release
- Refusing Treatment can be purchased from Amazon
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01 hrs, Monday 27 September 2010
Police vetting decimates 'Big Society'
With the imminent results of the Coalition Government's major review of the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS), which regulates contact between adults and any child not their own, independent think tank Civitas releases a new edition of Licensed to Hug, which insists the Government must get rid of the VBS once and for all. The dramatic escalation of child protection measures, such as the VBS, has created an atmosphere of suspicion that actually increases the risks to children and damages relations between the generations.
- Full press release
- Licensed to Hug (second edition) can be purchased from Amazon
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01 hrs, Tuesday 21 September
Iain Duncan Smith's plans to 'make work pay' could be a costly failure
The proposals in '21st Century Welfare' are the product of two inconsistent philosophical perspectives: one that stresses 'welfare rights' and another that focuses on 'mutual obligation'. As a result, the proposals are unlikely to achieve the significant reduction in welfare dependency that is hoped for. Moreover, there is a strong risk of repeating the mistakes of American welfare reforms before the mid-1990s.
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01 hrs, Saturday 28 August
Report exposes hidden costs of community sentences over custody
Another Coalition policy is beginning to unravel, as independent commentators look more closely at the details. The internationally respected former Home Office criminologist, Professor Ken Pease, has shown that it will not be feasible to save money by releasing convicted prisoners from jail. According to Prison, Community Sentencing and Crime, not only does the available evidence suggest that offending will not be reduced, the Government's hope of cutting expenditure on prisons can only be achieved by ignoring the impact on victims of crime - costs that the Home Office itself has acknowledged and quantified.
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01 hrs, Tuesday 24 August 2010
Practically irrelevant: 'vocational' qualifications in schools not fit for purpose
Third-rate courses wrongly presented as 'vocational', must go
Beneath the continuing rise in GCSE results lies a troubling truth about what is happening in schools. Forming part of the forthcoming publication, Unqualified Success: Investigating the state of vocational training in the UK, research from independent think tank Civitas finds that:
i. Students are being led away from basic academic subjects to learn how to serve drinks in Hospitality BTEC Firsts and to identify airport facilities in Travel and Tourism OCR Nationals;
ii. Even in compulsory academic subjects e.g. science, students are being entered for lower-level 'vocational' versions;
iii. The reputation and worth of vocational training is being heavily undermined as 'practically irrelevant' qualifications are mis-sold as 'vocational';
iv. Evidence suggests that an educational apartheid is underway as lower-income students are considerably more likely to be entered for sub-standard qualifications.
Media information: Immediate Release, 18 August 2010
Policy Briefing
Will Nick Clegg escape the Social Mobility Myths?
Peter Saunders (author of Social Mobility Myths, recently published by Civitas) responds to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's major speech in which he said 'promoting social mobility' is 'at the top of our social agenda'. Saunders praises Clegg for his 'fresh take' on social mobility, as he identifies poor parenting as part of the problem: 'Parents are "on the frontline" and must interest their children in education'.
However, Saunders is concerned about the appointment of former Health Secretary, Alan Milburn, as social mobility special adviser to the Government. According to Saunders, Milburn's appointment signals that more destructive and ineffective social engineering could still be on the way because Milburn's position on social mobility is deeply flawed.
- Full press release
- Click here to buy Social Mobility Myths.
Media information: Immediate Release, 03 August 2010
Crime Briefing
Latest International Comparison of Crime in OECD Countries
The UN affiliated European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control has recently published the most up-to-date international comparison of crime statistics. The figures are based on the UN Survey of Crime Trends (UN-CTS). In the past the UN only published comparisons for Europe and North America, but the latest report uses police-recorded crime for 2006 for many additional countries. However, because there are significant problems of comparability, Civitas has selected only those nations that belong to the OECD. Its members are more likely to have reliable national statistics agencies and to be accustomed to standardising information. It is frustrating that international comparisons are so far behind, but ironing out inconsistencies to ensure that we really are comparing 'like with like' simply takes a long time.
We know from comparisons with other EU members that crime in England and Wales is very high. In 2004 the European Union's Crime and Safety Survey looked at 18 countries and found that the UK was a 'crime hotspot', along with Ireland, the Netherlands and Denmark. And in 2007 the latest Eurostat figures for the 27 EU members found that England and Wales had the third worst crime rate.
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01hrs Monday 19 July 2010
Blasphemy is back!
'Hate' legislation threatens freedom of speech
Hate legislation removes an increasing quantity of matters traditionally dealt with in civil society to the domain of the state and the courts. In a new report from the independent think tank Civitas, A New Inquisition: religious persecution in Britain today, Jon Gower Davies, formerly the Head of Religious Studies at Newcastle University, reveals the bizarre and oppressive nature of judicial attempts to prosecute individuals for 'religious hatred' - this new legal concept has resulted in some singularly worrying court cases.
Jon Davies argues that the growth in accusations of 'hate crime' threatens freedom of speech because they destroy the possibility and practice of open, sociable and critical discussion of religion. In A New Inquisition, he shows why the liberal majority needs to reassert the convention that the law should be used not as a weapon to suppress unpopular opinions, but rather as the protector of free speech.
Media information: immediate release, 12 July 2010
Commentary on NHS White Paper
The coalition government today released its White Paper on the NHS. James Gubb, director of the health unit at independent social policy think-tank Civitas said:
The Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley, should be congratulated on moves to introduce greater competition in the NHS by granting extra freedoms to foundation trusts, expanding choice for patients and supporting a genuine 'social market' through the introduction of meaningful competition law.
Recent evidence on the impact of the competition that already exists in the NHS suggests this is the right course of action to drive value in tight financial times.
However, moves to transfer responsibility for commissioning from PCTs to GPs universally and at such a rapid pace must be cause for concern...[continued]
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01hrs Saturday 10 July 2010
Lansley's plans could set the NHS back three years
Moves to transfer commissioning responsibility to GPs could cost the NHS its £20 billion efficiency savings target, and worse
The coalition government's White Paper on the NHS is due to be published next week. It is widely expected to outline plans to hand control of as much as £80 billion of resources in the NHS from Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to consortia of GPs.
Analysis by the independent think tank Civitas suggests such moves are likely to:
- Lead to at least a one year dip in performance in the NHS in absolute terms.
- Set the NHS back at least three years relative to what could be achieved without any structural change.
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01hrs Monday 12 July 2010
Climate change policies risk major damage to the economic recovery
A newly published report from the independent think tank Civitas reveals that the increased costs of energy arising from 'green' energy policies are set to increase significantly. Increased costs will hurt manufacturing at a time when much depends on the sector to generate the economic growth the country needs, and to rebalance the economy.
In British Energy Policy And The Threat To Manufacturing Industry, Ruth Lea and Jeremy Nicholson examine the impact of the recent Labour Government's policy on energy prices. They argue that Labour's aim to reduce carbon emissions and increase the proportion of energy generated from renewable sources, significantly increased costs for energy consumers. Lea and Nicholson's analysis provides a timely warning because under the new Coalition Government, energy policy could be as damaging to manufacturing industry as it was under Labour.
CIVITAS POLICY NOTE
The Potential Consequences of Kenneth Clarke's Crime Policy
If Home Secretaries are judged by the amount of crime during their time in office then Kenneth Clarke must rank as the worst Home Secretary ever. He held the office from April 1992 to May 1993 when crime was higher than it had ever been before and has ever been since. It started to fall only when Clarke's policies were reversed by Michael Howard.
As Justice Secretary he now runs prisons, and from his comments this week he has learnt little from his time at the Home Office in the 1990s. He now argues for reducing the prison population by lowering the number of offenders sentenced to prison and reducing long sentences. Why, he asks, is the prison population twice what it was when he was last at the Home Office in 1993?
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01 Tuesday 01 June 2010
Britain IS socially mobile
New report slams 'social mobility myths'
Politicians from all parties say they are committed to the ideal of a 'meritocratic' society - they all want talented and hard-working people to succeed in life, irrespective of their social background. However, a new report from the independent think tank Civitas argues that many politicians are badly informed about the facts of social mobility in modern Britain. And because they don't know the facts, they support policies which are at best unnecessary, and at worst deeply damaging.
In Social Mobility Myths, Peter Saunders, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Sussex, examines the evidence on social mobility in Britain and he exposes four 'social mobility myths' which distort debate and policy. According to Saunders, most politicians across all parties accept these myths, and thereofr commonly express their sense of outrage that a class-ridden, closed society is becoming even more class-ridden and even more closed.
Saunders sets out to convince the political class that much of what they believe (or say they believe) about social mobility in Britain is either false or more complicated than they think.
The bottom line is: we cannot hope to develop good policies if we ignore the key influence on the phenomenon we are hoping to change.
Media information: for immediate release: Thursday 29 April 2010
PCT funding formula 'adjusted' to the tune of £10billion
Extracting the truth about funding for health inequality
England is now in its 16th year of using an unscientific formula for funding NHS primary care trusts (PCTs). In a new report from Civitas, Formulas at war over two sorts of inequality in health funding, Mervyn Stone, Emeritus Professor of Statistics at University College London, examines the evidence presented by expert witnesses at a hearing of the Rural Services All-Party Parliamentary Group in February 2010. He argues that the current PCT-funding formula cannot be defended on any rational grounds.
Stone highlights that it was left for the Minister to 'cut and paste' the formula and to simply choose a figure:
Stone calls for the government to be obliged to publicly defend its decision to "adjust" the formula.
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01hrs Monday 12 April 2010
Governments can, do and should 'pick winners'
To grow our way back to prosperity we need an effective industrial policy
A new book from the independent think tank Civitas, Prosperity With Principles, argues that at a time when we need economic growth more than at any point since the war, policy makers in all parties are still paralysed by doctrinal non-interventionism. Governments are in competition with each other for the location of industry, and so a Government that fails to create attractive conditions is committing economic suicide.
David Green, author of the book, argues:
'As the first country to industrialise and as one of the most prosperous nations in existence, we tend to see ourselves in a different light from developing nations. But the scale of industrial decline combined with the weakness of our public finances has made this attitude a luxury we can't afford. We should not, therefore, be too proud to learn from nations that have enjoyed rapid growth in recent years.' (p. 9.)
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01hrs Friday 9 April 2010
Climate-change policies threatening British jobs
The Government's preoccupation with 'green' energy policies sabotages the competitiveness of manufacturing industry
A new report from the independent think tank Civitas reveals that the increased costs of energy arising from the Government's 'green' energy policies are set to increase significantly.
In British Energy Policy And The Threat To Manufacturing Industry, Ruth Lea and Jeremy Nicholson examine the impact of Government policy on energy prices. They argue that the Government's aim to reduce carbon emissions and its interlinked objective of increasing the proportion of energy generated from renewable sources, are incurring significant costs on energy consumers.
As the economy struggles to emerge from the economic crisis of 2008-2009, it is widely assumed that the manufacturing sector will contribute positively to the general recovery and the rebalancing of the economy. Under these circumstances, the report calls on Government to ensure that manufacturing industries are supported by policies that help rather than hinder their competitiveness.
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01hrs Saturday 27 March 2010
Balance of payments deficit could unravel Budget calculations
5% hole in the UK current account predicted
A new report from the independent think tank Civitas predicts a further deterioration of the UK current account balance.
In Prospects for the UK Balance of Payments, Cambridge University economists Robert Rowthorn and Ken Coutts present a previously uncalculated projection for the UK balance of payments in which they assume that:
- UK domestic spending will increase by 1.5% p.a. in 2010, 2.5% p.a. in 2011 and 3% thereafter;
- The real price of imported food will increase at 2% p.a. from 2010;
- UK energy imports will rise as the volume of UK North Sea oil production falls by 7% p.a. from 2010.
The authors predict that the UK deficit is likely to more than double from the 2009 rate of 2% of GDP to almost 5% in 2020. A current account deficit of that size would make untenable the plans of all political parties to reduce our huge national debt.
Media information: EMBARGO: 00.01hrs Monday 1 March 2010
NHS market failing to deliver widespread benefits shows comprehensive review of evidence
Lose-lose situation as market forces and central control jostle to be main lever of reform
As the debate over the future of a market in the NHS intensifies, the independent think tank Civitas releases the first comprehensive review of the evidence since the most recent policy overhaul in 2002. It illustrates that market forces have contributed to:
- Improved access for patients
- Reduced waiting times
- Increased efficiency and improved financial management in providers
However, benefits are not widespread:
Media information: Embargo 00.01am Monday 22 February 2010
Migrating away from reality
In 'Not 'challenging myths' but mythical challenges', UCL Emeritus Professor Mervyn Stone exposes the way in which political agendas are playing a significant role in the presentation of official statistics.
Nowhere does this politicisation apply more readily, Professor Stone argues, than on data relating to immigration.
Mervyn Stone urges 'detailed scrutiny and analysis' of statistical publications and says that it is of the utmost importance for statisticians to present data on immigration without misrepresenting the evidence for a political motive.
Ultimately, data need to be served raw, rather than 'cooked up' according to what's on the political menu.
Media information: immediate release (Friday 12 February 2010)
BMA campaign to shut out independent sector from NHS is misguided and foolhardy
The BMA today extend their 'Look After Our NHS' campaign, to stop commercially run firms providing NHS care and end the market in the NHS, to patients.
Leaflets will be distributed containing stories such as a 70-year-old lady who is forced to go to a treatment centre run by a private provider and suffers 'complications'.
The BMA are shamelessly politicising health care on cherry-picked evidence.
Media information: immediate release (Friday 12 February 2010)
Putting the UK back in business
The UK's current tax burden is jeopardising business and undermining our ability to escape from recession.
Unlike the rest of the world, the UK has raised, rather than reduced its burden on business.
Only businesses can provide the jobs, incomes and profits that allow taxes to be collected to pay for public services, so the UK must ensure that tax levels are conducive to companies' survival. After all, if businesses fail, there will be no tax revenue. In a new Civitas report, Richard Baron and Corin Taylor present a 'recession-proof' solution to get Britain back on track: reduce the corporation tax rate to 15% over a ten-year period.Media information: immediate release (Wednesday 27 January 2010)
On industrial policy political parties should turn back to Thatcher
Today's political leaders have a strong inclination to resist 'interfering' in the economy, but whoever wins the next election would do well to follow in the footsteps of their Thatcherite predecessors and get involved in industry.
Media information: embargo 0001hrs Monday 4 January 2010
The National Curriculum should guarantee a liberal education for all claims think-tank
The political controversies that rage around the school curriculum could be resolved if we re-committed ourselves to the ideal that dominated educational theory for over a century and a half: the provision of a liberal education for all.