Re:State's research and commentary is regularly featured in the media. You can find press coverage of Re:State's work here.
We are always happy to comment on policy issues relevant to our work. If you would like a quote, an interview, or a background briefing, please email press@re-state.co.uk.
Reform think tank Director, Charlotte Pickles, wrote an article for City AM outlining why the Prime Minister's 'tough on crime' rhetoric won't make our streets any safer.
You can read it here.
Commenting on the Sutton Trust’s annual aspirations polling, Reform Education lead, Dr Luke Heselwood, said:
“These figures show an alarming aspiration gap between disadvantaged and advantaged pupils when it comes to attending university.
“Higher education remains the primary route to top jobs and poorer pupils must not be put off from applying otherwise improving social mobility will remain a pipe dream. Where young people have the grades, their background should not determine their educational outcomes. Talent is not concentrated among the wealthy. Schools and universities must do more to close this gap and the new Education Secretary must make this a priority.”
Dr Luke Heselwood, Senior Researcher at Reform, wrote a piece for the Times Education Supplement, on why we should spare a thought for technical education on A-levels results day.
Read the full piece here.
Following the Prime Minister's criminal justice reforms, Charlotte Pickles, Director of the Re:State think tank, was quoted in The Financial Times giving her analysis of the proposals.
In the piece she argued that the “aggregate sum of these announcements is clearly electioneering. It’s true that the public is worried about crime, but this looks like a thinly-veiled attempt to get back to being seen as the party of law and order”.
Read the full piece here.
Commenting on the Prime Minister’s announcement to increase prison sentences and bolster stop and search, Charlotte Pickles, Director of the Re:State think tank, said:
“Boris Johnson’s criminal justice reforms are a monumental waste of money. His proposed sentencing reforms ignore evidence that shows that longer prison sentences are ineffective at deterring crime or reducing reoffending.
“His unequivocal embrace of stop and search is dumbfounding – research shows it does little to prevent violence.
“Intelligent investment is clearly need, but these pledges are costly election baubles, not a serious attempt to make this country safer.”
Covered by various outlets including The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, Public Finance and Yahoo News. Charlotte was also interviewed by talkRADIO and LBC.
New data published today by NHS England shows patients attended A&E in record numbers this July, whilst waiting lists for hospital treatment are out of control, up 20% in a month.
Commenting, Reform think tank Health Policy lead, Claudia Martinez, said:
“Nobody should be surprised that patients are flocking to A&E when they see no alternative. A third of patients can’t book a same day appointment with their GP, while around 90% aren’t aware of any out-of-hours services.
“The solution is a primary care system that keeps people out of A&E. Illness isn’t constrained to working hours, so GPs need to provide care when patients need it – which requires investment. It’s ridiculous that only 6% of the £1.8bn promised to the NHS this week is earmarked for primary care. The Government needs to urgently rethink its approach.”
Covered in the The Financial Times (£).
Claudia Martinez, Research Manager at Re:State, wrote an article in Mental Health Today about how technology can revolutionise mental health care but it is imperative that people are put at the centre.
Read the article here.
Commenting benefit cap statistics published the Department for Work and Pensions today, Director of the Reform think tank, Charlotte Pickles, said:
“The benefit cap was rightly introduced to make the welfare state fairer – ensuring that those on benefits did not receive more than the average working family. But these figures show the cap has gone too far.
The double whammy of reducing the cap to £20,000 and freezing benefits is causing unacceptable hardship for the most vulnerable in society. The welfare system must be fair for taxpayers, but it must also reduce, not increase, poverty. If the Government wants to cut the welfare bill, they should look at the millions being handed to wealthy pensioners.”
On Wednesday 3 July 2019, Reform launched its report, Making the right choices: using data-driven technology to transform mental healthcare.
It has been mentioned by Use My Data, the King's Fund, NICE and on NHS resources including the current awareness service for child and adolescence mental health, Musgrove Park Hospital and Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
On 16 August 2018, Reform published a report on the potential of data sharing to transform the delivery of public services. Media coverage included: The Telegraph, Public Technology, Civil Service World, UK Authority, The Register, Out-Law.com, Holyrood, Government Europa, Smart Cities World, GovLab and the Royal Society.
The report was referenced by the Office for Statistics Regulation,the Better Care Fund and the Children's Commissioner.
The report was also referenced in a report on digital government by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee.
It also received international coverage including in Italy.
Commenting on statistics published today by the Ministry of Justice, Director of the Re:State think tank Charlotte Pickles, said:
“These figures continue to show unacceptably high levels of violence and self-harm in our prisons.
Our new Prime Minister has presented himself as tough on crime. But the most effective way to cut crime is to reduce reoffending. That means investing in prison safety and rehabilitation to help offenders turn their lives around.
It also means keeping prison as a last resort. Reoffending costs society £18bn a year. It would be a grave and costly mistake to not proceed with David Gauke’s proposal to scrap short-term prison sentences, which exacerbate reoffending.”
This was covered in the Financial Times, Public Finance and OZY.
Josh Pritchard, Researcher at Re:State, was quoted in an article by Public Finance about Labour's outsourcing proposals. He argued that Labour's proposed "insourcing revolution" is largely redundant and fails to address key concerns about job losses and cost effectiveness.
Read the full article here.
Charlotte Pickles, Director of Re:State, appeared on Politics Live to discuss the latest policy news including No-Deal Brexit developments and apprenticeships.
Commenting on the 8% increase in knife crime offences, Director of the Reform think tank Charlotte Pickles, said:
“The continuing rise in knife crime is tragic, but not surprising. Until politicians take seriously the need to invest in prevention alongside enforcement, more young people will continue to die on our cities’ streets.
Any increases in police numbers must be targeted and coupled with serious investment to tackle the lethal mix of poverty, school exclusion, poor mental health and drugs. It’s astonishing that both Tory leadership candidates think that pledging thousands more bobbies is enough.”
Data also published today shows that fewer than one in 10 crimes result in a charge.
The think tank is calling for a portion of the resources being promised to the police by Tory leadership candidates to be spent on back-office support, analysts and bolstering digital forensics capabilities to improve outcomes. It argues that more officers should only be deployed to specific high crime areas.
Covered by BBC News, The Independent, The Mirror and The Express, among other publications. Charlotte was also quoted in the Financial Times and OXY's coverage of the statistics.
Reform Researcher Imogen Farhan wrote an op-ed for Inside Housing arguing that Discretionary Housing Payments are not a long-term solution to the housing crisis. Read it here.