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
Park Land: How open data can improve our urban green spaces
Katherine Drayson and Guy NeweyBritain’s urban green spaces are coming under pressure, with financial and development constraints, coupled with a surprising lack of data, raising the possibility of a decline in the quantity and quality of our urban green spaces. Park Landcalls for a new freely-available national urban green space map for the UK to help make sure people living in cities have adequate access to good green spaces, test whether public money is being well spent and allow clever innovations in improving green spaces to be easily shared.
Taxing Issues? Reducing housing demand or increasing housing supply
Policy ExchangeTaxing Issues? examines the barriers to home ownership, including the pros and cons of introducing new land and property taxes. The report argues that the best way to bring down the cost of home ownership and tackle market volatility is to scrap increases in property taxes, urging policymakers instead to focus on building 1.5 million new homes by 2020.
The Fog of Law: An introduction to the legal erosion of British fighting power
Tom TugendhatA new Policy Exchange report, The Fog of Law, co-authored by Tom Tugendhat and Laura Croft, shows how the application of civilian norms to military conduct has led to a surge in legal claims against the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The costs of litigation have now risen out of proportion with forecasts, with the number of claims brought against the MOD totalling 5,827 in 2012-2013.
Financing Small and Growing Firms post
Guy Miscampbell and James BartyA new Policy Exchange report, The Fog of Law, co-authored by Tom Tugendhat and Laura Croft, shows how the application of civilian norms to military conduct has led to a surge in legal claims against the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The costs of litigation have now risen out of proportion with forecasts, with the number of claims brought against the MOD totalling 5,827 in 2012-2013.
Public and Private Sector Pay: 2013 update
Matthew OakleyPublic sector workers in the North East, Merseyside and South West of England earn as much as £3,200 more than their equivalents in the private sector. The variation in pay has arisen because of the system of national pay bargaining, which means that workers are paid the same amount regardless of where they live. The paper recommends abolishing national pay deals and moving to a system which can reflect local labour markets and reward performance.
Centres of Excellence? The role of Children’s Centres in early intervention
Harriet WaldegraveCentres of Excellence? acknowledges that families from all backgrounds face rising childcare costs. However, it argues that in a time of stretched budgets, supporting high quality care for children from deprived backgrounds offers greater value for money than subsidies to the richest parents. It also argues that the government is right to allow childcare to be delivered in a range of settings, rather than just Children’s Centres.
21st Century Retail Policy: Quality, choice, experience and convenience
Alex MortonThis report finds that Town Centre First, a policy intended to support the high street by limiting out-of-town shopping centres, has decreased competition between retailers, damaged the social fabric of communities and caused price rises of at least £1,000 a year for the average household. Town Centre First should be replaced with an ‘Access First’ policy, focussed on giving low income households access to social and retail hubs, but not restricting where these retail centres should be built.
Cultures of Dependency: Fact, fiction, solutions
Matthew TinsleyCultures of Dependency says that in the future employment support must better understand the pressures that families, social networks and communities put on unemployed people. Devolving power and money would allow individual Jobcentres to pilot new innovative ways of delivering local personalised support to help people find a job. Support could also be targeted at whole families, peer groups or estates in order to tackle serious barriers to work like a poor work ethic or family problems.
Smaller, Better, Faster, Stronger: Remaking government for the digital age
Sarah Fink and Chris YiuSmaller, Better, Faster, Stronger shows how government could save as much as £70 billion by 2020 if it adopted plans to eliminate paper and digitise its activities, work smarter with fewer staff in Whitehall, shop around for the best procurement deals, and accelerate the use of data and analytics.
