Latest Publications

Strong public services are vital in a social market economy, but what they deliver matters much more than who delivers it. Our work is about understanding how to reform and modernise those services to deliver the greatest benefit to society.

Latest Publications:

Publication

In the blink of an AI: Clearing the backlog in UK public services

Artificial intelligence and automation are ideally suited to do many of the tasks that public servants in user-facing roles currently spend hours managing. This report outlines the benefits the civil service and public sector can reap by further integrating AI and automation, as well as the time savings available to the public which use them.
Published: 27 November 2024
Author(s): Sam Robinson, Gideon Salutin
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Publication

Carefully, compassionately: Canadian lessons on assisted dying

Objectors to assisted dying policy often cite Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) programme to exemplify the danger of doing so, including concerns about due process and eligibility. The following briefing is designed to evaluate where Canada has gone wrong, why it should not deter policymakers in Britain, and how we learn from Canadian mistakes to ensure assisted dying can be safe.
Published: 11 November 2024
Author: Gideon Salutin
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Publication

The Management Mission: How better leaders improve public services

This report brings together the highlights of detailed studies into the value of leadership and management in the UK’s healthcare, education system, and local government.
Published: 22 September 2024
Author(s): Richard Hyde, Niamh O Regan
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Publication

Life beyond bars: Learning for life after prison

Education is central to prisoner rehabilitation, but take-up of it has been in decline and is still not back at even pre-pandemic levels. This paper discusses the current state of education in prisons, and why it is failing to deliver on its aims of supporting employment and reducing reoffending.
Published: 05 April 2024
Author: Niamh O Regan
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Publication

Pay and Morale Survey 2023 – Headline Report February 2024

Low pay and poor conditions have resulted in workforce challenges across the public sector, and the police force is no exception. This report, written in partnership with the Police Federation of England and Wales, collates the views of 28,000 police officers to present insights into the state of pay and morale on the police force.
Published: 20 March 2024
Author(s): Social Market Foundation, Police Federation of England and Wales
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Publication

What the NHS can and cannot learn from the Singaporean health care system

Singapore spends less on healthcare than the UK, and achieves remarkable health outcomes. Yet it is often unclear how far these lower costs are due to the design of their healthcare system as opposed to wider societal and cultural factors. This paper focuses specifically on primary care, and argues that Singaporean-style polyclinics and telemedicine could help drive efficiency in the UK, as they have done in Singapore
Published: 04 March 2024
Author: Max Thilo
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Publication

Local heroes? Assessing leadership and management in local government

Local government plays a key role in delivering services to the public and developing local economies, and its role has evolved in recent years in response to a number of challenges. This report looks at the role of effective leadership and management in helping local government meet these challenges and the obstacles facing leaders and managers in local government.
Published: 25 January 2024
Author(s): Richard Hyde, Niamh O Regan
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Publication

A new lease of life: Three steps to success for the NHS

The crisis in the NHS, with unacceptable waiting lists and ever increasing emergency admissions, shows the current model is failing to meet modern healthcare needs. This briefing proposes a new model to increase efficiency, shifting care away from the district general hospital towards fewer, specialist teams, more neighbourhood care and greater transparency.
Published: 25 January 2024
Author(s): Nick Bosanquet, Andrew Haldenby
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Publication

Roads to recovery: Exploring UK prison rehabilitation and its alternatives

One of the primary purposes of the UK prison system is to facilitate offender rehabilitation. However, inadequate support and high reoffending rates mean it may be failing to live up to that ideal. Drawing upon lessons from the Netherlands and Norway, this briefing highlights the potential benefits of alternative approaches to rehabilitation.
Published: 30 November 2023
Author(s): Jake Shepherd, Niamh O Regan
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