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@test.helloknox.com.
Andrew Haldenby wrote an letter published by The Times in response to an article by Danny Finkelstein on a hypothecated NHS tax.
He wrote: “More importantly, the creation of a dedicated tax would distract Ministers from the essential task of reorganising the Service so that it works more productively. At long last the NHS is genuinely trying to shift its centre of gravity from relatively expensive hospitals to primary care and indeed to care in the home, enabled by new technology. The creation of a new funding system would send the contrary message that the Government sees funding, not productivity, as the solution to the Service’s problems.”
Andrew Haldenby wrote an article for the Telegraph in response to the Budget on the previous day. He wrote: “Philip Hammond concluded his Budget speech by saying that he would ‘back’ public services. That is not the same as writing them a blank cheque. The right way to do it is to help public services turn into the modern, efficient, capable organisations that citizens want.”
Read the full article here.
William Mosseri-Marlio, Research Manager at Re:State, wrote an article for The Times Red Box ahead of the Budget tomorrow. Although the country is on track to deliver a surplus by the next Parliament, more difficult times lie ahead. As the ageing population grows, this will only put more strain on public services including social security, the NHS and long-term care. However, the Government looks like it is doing something about it, with an expected review on social care funding to be announced and a re-think on the pension triple lock. The only thing left to tackle is the NHS, the single biggest threat to the country's long-term fiscal position.
"Structural reform is a thankless political task. The pain is acute, and future chancellors enjoy the benefits. Anyone with a spreadsheet, however, can see that inertia isn’t an option."
Read the full article here.
Alexander Hitchcock, Senior Researcher at Reform, appeared on BBC Radio Gloucestershire, to discuss the benefits of larger GPs for patient care and taxpayers. He argued that larger GP surgeries are the "future" and would better suit the needs of the public today. Listen to the full programme here.
In a major article on the NHS and social care, the Economist made a number of references to Re:State’s recent health research, Saving STPs. Achieving meaningful health and social care reform.
The article says: “After a decade of free spending under Labour and nearly as long a period of austerity under the Tories, it seems that Mr Hammond and Theresa May, the prime minister, are considering big reforms. With cuts to social care causing such problems for the NHS, the most radical idea is to change how it is paid for, either to a form of social insurance or to a levy on inherited wealth, says Andrew Haldenby of Re:State, a think-tank. Both would overturn 70 years of thinking about how the welfare state should be financed. As Mr Haldenby asks, ‘Who would have thought that Theresa May and Philip Hammond were welfare-state revolutionaries?’.”
Read the full article here.
Andrew Haldenby authored an op-ed in which he argued that stop-gap solutions, whether proposed by the Chancellor or the Public Accounts Committee, are not the answer to the problems of the NHS. He referred to Re:State‘s recent report, Saving STPs. Achieving meaningful health and social care reform.
"The great danger is that the NHS is regarded with such universal veneration that, while everyone can see it is in deep trouble, no one will commit the blasphemy of doing anything fundamental about it."
The article is available here.
Re:State held a conference in February 2017 exploring the opportunities and challenges of Big Data in government. John Manzoni, Chief Executive of the UK Civil Service and Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office, gave the keynote speech on the subject. It received the following coverage in the media.
Civil Service World "Speaking on Tuesday at a conference on big data use in government, organised by the Re:State think tank, John Manzoni said that gaining and retaining public trust was “absolutely critical to achieving our ambition of a data-driven government”." Read the full article here.
Computer Weekly "Speaking at think tank Re:State’s conference on big data, Manzoni said “data is at the heart of 21st century government” and that Whitehall and the wider public sector need to “use it properly”." Read the full article here.
Public Technology This article gives an overview of the main themes that emerged from the conference. Read the full article here.
Public Technology This article gives an overview of the key themes that emerged from the keynote speech made by John Manzoni, Chief Executive of the Civil Service and Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office. Read the full article here.
Government Computing "In a speech delivered to the Reform think tank, Manzoni set out the government’s long-held ambitions to ensure what it described as the “proper use” of the enormous quantities of data that it holds." Read the full article here.
UKA This article looks at the potential of Big Data in justice, a topic that was explored at the conference. Read the full article here.
Andrew Haldenby appeared on the Radio 4 programme to argue that reform would be more beneficial than emergency extra resources for the NHS. He referred to Re:State‘s recent report, Saving STPs. Achieving meaningful health and social care reform. The interview is available here.
Andrew Haldenby appeared on the Radio 4 programme which presented a short biography of Liz Truss MP, Re:State’s former deputy director. The full interview is available here.
In a report on the possibility of extending NHS charging, Nick Triggle referred to Re:State’s 2013 paper, The cost of our health: charging in healthcare.
Read the full article here.
GP Online wrote an article on the findings of Re:State's report, Saving STPs. Achieving meaningful health and social care reform. "Report co-author Kate Laycock said: ‘As recent weeks have shown, the NHS desperately needs ideas that reshape local services and ease the burden on over-pressed hospitals. STPs can do it but only if ministers give them full control of local health and social care, under one directly elected individual. Without that, the high hopes for STPs will be disappointed.’
Read the full report here.
Elaine Fischer, Research Assistant at Re:State, wrote an article for Prospect following the publication of Re:State's report, Saving STPs. Achieving meaningful health and social care reform. In a recent interview when responding to questions around pressure the NHS is facing, Jeremy Hunt said the healthcare service would radically improve due to the government's NHS plan, which are the Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs).
However, STPs are not on track to deliver the wide scale reforms needed. Separate funding streams for healthcare, social care and public health, it is difficult to move money around the system to where it will have the most impact. Some areas show these problems can be overcome, such as Greater Manchester. Without formal organisation, STPs "run the risk of being little more than talking shops".
"STPs are the right idea and they can move the NHS forward. Ministers however must give them the powers, and the financial muscle, needed for them to deliver. The government’s whole health reform agenda depends on it."
Read the full article here.
Andrew Haldenby, Director of Re:State, wrote an article in The Times following the launch of Re:State's report, Saving STPs. Achieving meaningful health and social care reform. Recent hospital problems have shown that NHS reform is needed. However throwing more money at the problem won't solve it. The true solution is the government's plan, however, it won't succeed in its current form. Ministers need to give STPs more power and local commitment, including full control of the NHS and social care budget in their area. They should also decide the health outcomes for their area which every provider will be tasked to deliver. In the medium-term, a locally elected STP leader should take responsibility for the budget. These changes "would give democratic legitimacy to the radical changes that STPs should be proposing. It would also give the government the NHS reform drive it needs."
Read the full article here.
National Health Executive wrote an article following the publication of Re:State's report, Saving STPs. Achieving meaningful health and social care reform, outlining key challenges identified by the report. "Researcher at Re:State Kate Laycock said: “STPs are trying to integrate health and social care so the systems are much more streamlined and easy to navigate – this is the right thing to be doing. “But having spoken to people we discovered that STPs weren’t going to deliver on this and that’s why we’ve written the paper.”
Read the full article here.
Kate Laycock, Researcher at Re:State, wrote an article in Conservative Home following the launch of Re:State's report, Saving STPs. Achieving meaningful health and social care reform. The idea of Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) is a good one, aiming to tackle issues including the division between health and social care, within the NHS itself and to overcome a “fortress mentality” in the NHS. However, the plan is not going to deliver in its current form.
The involvement of local authorities has been minimal and the plans will need the support of local NHS staff and voters, many of whom weren't aware of the process or consulted. Perhaps most importantly, STPs cannot solve the underlying reasons for the NHS's current problems such as the perverse funding arrangements. Instead, Ministers will need to have strength in their convictions to make STPs work. This would involve giving STPs control of the NHS and social care budgets; setting up desired health outcomes for their populations and hold providers to account; creating a directly elected individual responsible for the NHS budget such as a new Health Care Comissioner or a metro mayor; and clarifying existing legislation on competition.
"Ministers may object that these far-reaching recommendations amount to the kind of “structural reorganisation” which went wrong under the Coalition Government. What STPs have revealed, however, is that true NHS reform cannot be delivered by well-intentioned conversations alone. The devolution of health and social care to Manchester, also achieved under the Coalition, shows that the right kind of changes can be made without upheaval or even controversy."
Read the full article here.