The Raven's Daily Blog

Subsidise to grow?

17.05.13: Is subsidising renewable energy limiting its innovation? Civitas has suggested it is, costing greater efficiencies and the taxpayers’ money. Meeting the EU’s 2009 Renewables Directive will not be cheap, but focusing solely on se...

The short sighted view

16.05.13: Another warning against austerity and welfare cuts has come today, with the publication of the BMA’s new report. Cutting health intervention projects which are tackling the causes of poverty and deprivation is simply short sighted, an...

Falling between the cracks

15.05.13: New data from the OECD warns of the danger of cutting the welfare system in the UK, with income inequality widening since the economic crisis. Welfare provides a net to catch those let down by employment, with narrowing opportunities to sta...

Building a support system

14.05.13: Extra funding announced to support homeless people once they have been discharged from hospital will be incredibly welcome and offers the opportunity to break a cycle of ill health and homelessness. Homeless people are significantly more vu...

Spending freedom

13.05.13: Should there be more stringent controls over how the pupil premium is spent in schools, to ensure it is being used most effectively? Previously criticised by Ofsted, for a small number of schools failing to make a sufficient difference to t...

Black holes and ringfenced budgets

10.05.13: The LGA has published a dire warning for central Government on the need to rearrange the funding structure for local authorities. Budgets must be redefined if they are to be used effectively, and allow councils to continue to provide essent...

A number puzzle

09.05.13: The push to change the statutory ratios for childcare could risk quality of care, charities and parents are warning. The move will clearly save money for child minders or their employers, but it is difficult to appreciate how care itself ca...

Maximising new media

08.05.13: Socitm has highlighted the need for councils to improve their online presence and the way they deliver information about local services to residents. Keeping up with the latest technology is not only what the public expect, it will save loc...

Inspecting from the inside

07.05.13: Would gathering data from pupils, teachers and parents provide a more effective approach to school inspections? It’s what think tank Demos has recommended, suggesting it will offer a “more honest” picture of schools’...

Power push

03.05.13: How seriously should the leading political parties take the gains made by UKIP today? Now officially the opposition in one council, Lincolnshire, it may be past the time where a policy of ignoring the party, or ridiculing candidates as &ldq...

Paring down ‘privilege’

30.04.13: Grayling’s latest suggestions for prison reform come across as vindictive tinkering rather than anything that would actually benefit the wider public, let alone offenders themselves. Will withholding toys and incentives make prisoners...

A revolution of one

29.04.13: The rollout of Universal Credit begins today, albeit with a much smaller bang than initially planned. Just one of the four pilots will see new claimants begin to receive the consolidated payment today, with the others postponed until July. ...

Myths and measles

26.04.13: Councils have greater responsibility for public health now, with the transition at the beginning of April from now-defunct NHS bodies. But national matters are the purview of Public Health England, and the measles outbreak created by the me...

The magic number?

25.04.13: The number of young people going into higher education has almost reached 50%, considered a significant milestone for the previous government, albeit not for this one. Despite a rush of people going to university straight from school, beati...

Living in fear

24.04.13: People are disproportionately scared of crime, new statistics indicate today. The UK Peace Index demonstrates how incidents of violent crime have consistently decreased over the past ten years, but the media barrage of terrorist threats, un...