Public services
Children's social care and the spending review
What level of funding is needed for children's social care? What is the right balance between early intervention and crisis support?
Rishi Sunak's cash influx can’t protect public services from a second coronavirus wave
While extra funding has helped, the chancellor's package of financial support can’t reverse a decade of budget pressures
Government needs a plan B in case it is forced to close schools again
The prime minister insists that all schools will open again in September, but he must be prepared in case a tactical retreat is needed
Four things government must learn from the A-level algorithm fiasco
The government to learn from the shambolic handling of A-level results
Getting rid of Public Health England will not make dealing with the coronavirus pandemic easier
Public Health England hasn’t had a good crisis. But replacing it with a new agency will be disruptive and may not fix the problem.
Devolution and the NHS
In the UK, the NHS is the umbrella term for the four health systems of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Outsourcing and privatisation
What is the difference between privatisation and outsourcing?
How fit were public services for coronavirus?
Failures in planning and funding cuts meant public services were not well prepared to handle the coronavirus crisis.
Matt Hancock’s speech on the future of healthcare is unlikely to survive contact with reality
The health secretary has delivered an ambitious speech on the future of health and social care but the policies proposed will be hard to implement
This is not the time for a three-year spending review
The government’s decision to hold a three-year spending review is the wrong one and should be reversed