Press Releases
Press Releases from the Policy Exchange team across a range of topics and policy departments.
Economics & Social Policy Press Releases
UK should double spend on development R&D
Policy ExchangeThe UK should double the proportion of its international aid budget spent on research and development in order to solve the most pressing global challenges and support the Government’s Industrial Strategy, says Policy Exchange in Global Britain, Global Solutions, a new report with a Foreword by George Freeman MP. In 2015, British aid for R&D amounted to £419 million; over the medium term we should increase this both to help the poorest people in the world and to support the UK’s world leading scientists.
It’s not just the size of your aid budget but what you do with it that counts
Policy ExchangePolicy Exchange today publishes ‘Global Britain, Global Challenges: How to make aid more effective’. The report makes a strong case for the importance of overseas aid and supports the Government’s commitment to spending 0.7 per cent of national income on aid. However, it also argues strongly that aid can and should be spent more effectively and that the development community should embrace trade and capitalism as vital to reducing poverty and disease.
Official estimates of Brexit impact were overly pessimistic
Policy ExchangeThe models used to assess the economic impact of Brexit were misleading, according to new analysis published today by Policy Exchange. At the time, the projections made by the Treasury, OECD and IMF were used by the then government and Remain campaign to argue that the British economy would face a significant and permanent loss of income in the event of a vote to leave. A careful analysis of the gravity trade economic models used to generate these pessimistic projections suggests that the impact of Brexit on our economy will be much less significant than the economic consensus constructed at the time of the referendum.
Move 25,000 civil servants out of London to turbo charge devolution
Damian HindPolicy Exchange’s new report ‘Delivering Differently’ argues as many as one third (25,000) of London-based civil servants should be relocated to city regions and local authorities if the new government wants to boost productivity and innovation in public service delivery.
Cutting Whitehall contractors could save £1billion, says think tank
Damian HindA new report by leading think tank Policy Exchange finds that after a period of restraint, the amount of money Government departments spend on external contractors has risen significantly, nearing pre-2010 levels. In 2014/15, Government departments spent £1.01 billion, up from £610 million in 2011/12. In 2009/10, the amount spent on off payroll staff was £1.5 billion.
Think tank calls for a bonfire of the energy quangos at the Spending Review
Richard HowardA new report by leading think tank Policy Exchange highlights the complex network of organisations that govern energy policy, regulations and rules. The paper find there are over 30 bodies responsible for the delivery of energy policy, the management of industry codes of practice and the operation of the energy system. The cost of these organisations is estimated at over £600million a year.
Helping commuters travel 20 minutes further could open up 10,000 more job opportunities
Damian HindIn a third of local authorities that make up the eight city regions no major employment sites (defined by having 5,000 or more jobs) are within a twenty minute commute by public transport and 80% of these Local Authorities have an unemployment rate above the national average.
Policy Exchange response to the Summer Budget
Policy ExchangePolicy Exchange’s experts respond to the Summer Budget 2015.
A ‘Living Income’ – not a Living Wage – is the most effective way to end in-work poverty without harming job creation
Caroline HallAligning National Insurance and Income Tax thresholds with the Minimum Wage would take half a million people out of tax altogether, says think tank. A full time Minimum Wage worker would be almost £2,000 a year better off after tax under the ‘Living Income’.
Pensioners to ‘opt-in’ to receive Winter Fuel Payment under think tank plan
Steve HughesPensioners should be asked to ‘opt-in’ to receive their Winter Fuel Payment as part of plans to make the welfare system fairer, more affordable and fit for the 21st century. Leading think tank Policy Exchange says that as much as £400million a year could be saved under the proposal.
