Publications
All Policy Exchange publications are free to download in .pdf format. You can also purchase hard copies of the majority of our reports – check each individual report page for details.
Recent Publications
Watching the Watchmen: The future of school inspections in England
Watching the Watchmen calls for a fundamental change in the power relationship between schools and Ofsted. It calls for lesson observations to be ditched, for Ofsted to consider abolishing or radically reducing the number of inspectors contracted to private companies and for inspectors to have relevant and recent teaching experience. It also proposes a new two-stage inspection process that will allow more resources to be focused on struggling schools.
Smarter Sanctions: Sorting out the system
Read Publication Benefit claimants who breach their job search requirements for the first time will be given “top-up” benefit cards and be asked to sign on daily as part of a new proposal to create a more compassionate but stricter sanctions regime. Smarter Sanctions...
Future Courts: A new vision for summary justicev
Future Courts calls for magistrates to dispense justice inside police stations at peak times – including evenings and weekends – and be put in charge of the administration of out-of-court disposals, as part of a radical drive to speed up the operation of the criminal justice system.
Fostering Aspirations: Reforming the foster care system in England and Wales
Some 48,530 children are now in a care system that is letting many of them down and is in radical need of reform.Fostering Aspirations makes a number of recommendations to increase the number of carers and improve the quality of care children receive.
Help to Save: Defusing the pensions time bomb
11 million people are at risk of entering ‘pensioner poverty’ when they retire. With the average pension pot standing at £36,800 a person will need to save six and a half times more to reach the £240,000 required to generate the government’s recommended retirement income of £16,200. Help to Save calls for government to make it obligatory for people to save for their retirement by removing the opt-out in the existing auto-enrolment scheme while also increasing individual contributions to pensions as their incomes rise over time.
Parenting Alone: Work and welfare in single parent households
Parenting Alone calls for more support to help lone parents with young children into work. The report finds although the number of lone parents working is higher than in the 1990s, 650,000 – or 1 in 3 – are still unemployed. It recommends more intensive support for lone parents when their youngest child is 3 or 4 and measures to stabilise the income of those moving from benefits into work or to higher paid work.
Lone Parent Obligations Impact Assessment
Read Publication In a series of reforms between 2008 and 2012, the government incrementally reduced the child age eligibility requirements for lone parents claiming Income Support, replacing the Income Support regime with active job search and Job Search Allowance for...
Reversing the ‘Widget Effect’: The introduction of performance-related pay for all teachers in English schools
Reversing the ‘Widget Effect’ welcomes the government’s introduction of performance pay in schools. The report shows that performance-related pay has been implemented in other countries without adverse effects for teachers or students, and finds that overwhelmingly teachers want to be paid based on the quality of their teaching. The report stresses that the system implemented must be fair and transparent in order to succeed, and sets out what a well-designed system would look like.
Cleaning up road transport in London: The next steps to improve the capital’s air quality
On 21st November 2013, Policy Exchange held a roundtable discussion on ways to improve the emissions performance of London’s road transport, and how local and national government policy can develop to reduce pollution and improve public health. This publication is a summary of the remarks made at that event.
Ringfencing UK Banks: More of a problem than a solution
This report argues that a rigid ringfence around UK banking activities risks creating a swathe of unintended consequences including further closures of high street branches and even the end of ‘free’ banking. However, due to the amount of political capital already expended on legislation, ringfencing legislation is unlikely to be abandoned, so the report sets out a number of recommendations to ensure that UK banks remain competitive and are in a position to be able to lend to businesses and consumers.