The International Public Policy Observatory finds, distils and shares the best global evidence for policy practice across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Latest Articles

What Policy Interventions Are Needed to Reduce Economic Inactivity for People with Poor Health and Older People?
November 5, 2024
- Amy Ramsay
- socio-economic inequalities
Amy Ramsay Economic inactivity among working-age adults has remained stubbornly high since the Covid pandemic, resulting in lost taxes, reduced consumer spending, and increased benefit payments. The UK is now the only G7 country whose employment rate is not back to pre-pandemic levels. Against the backdrop of a UK labour shortage and a reported £22bn fiscal black hole, there is an urgent need to address economic inactivity. The most likely groups not to be in work or looking for a job are those with long-term health conditions and older people. However, these...

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Growth Beacons: How Innovation Districts Can Create and Spread Prosperity
October 23, 2024
Geoff Mulgan, Jeremy Williams, Hope McGee Across the UK and around the world, Innovation Districts are becoming important engines of productivity, creativity and growth. As part of our work to help governments combat spatial inequality, IPPO launches a new report, produced with collaboration from the UK Innovation Districts Group and UCL’s EPPI Centre, to show how districts can drive success. Growth Beacons: How Innovation Districts Can Create and Spread Prosperity highlights the key role Innovation Districts can play in facilitating economic growth, while sharing their benefits broadly with local people. As well...

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Local Government Fiscal Constraint in Scotland: Risk and Resilience
October 11, 2024
- Rob Richardson
Rob Richardson In September 2024, the Centre for Public Policy brought together government, the voluntary sector, and academic expertise from across Scotland for a roundtable discussion. Our aim was to understand how local government in Scotland is responding to the current challenging fiscal context, and to share perspective and practice on the potential ways forward through difficult times. Participants were asked to consider two broad themes of ‘risk’ and ‘resilience’, to identify the key risks faced by local government and consider ways in which those risks could be mitigated. Several key ideas...

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