Reform Media Summary

26 February 2008

In today’s Media Summary, Further coverage on Reform’s latest education report, a report in PR Week refers to Reform’s latest health report: “The Reform think-tank this week put out a report on the state of the health service, called NHS reform: national mantra, not local reality and Local Government Association: more than 30 councils will reduce services in order to fund new, free bus travel for the over-60s.

Education

Further coverage on Reform’s latest education report. It is available online at www.reform.co.uk.

Libdemvoice

Elizabeth Truss, Reform’s Deputy Director, and Laura Kounine, Reform’s Education and Crime Research Officer, argue in a comment piece on the website: “The Reform report shows that there is already a model that the Liberal Democrats can build upon to achieve their vision of ‘Free Schools’. Existing academies have already demonstrated that positive steps can be taken for effective leadership, improvement in teaching standards and better discipline. With the further reforms that Richard Tice proposes, these measures could transform state education in England” (libdemvoice.org).

BBC Online

A recent report on school academies by the independent think-tank Reform argues that teachers unions act as a block to educational reform. Following the publication of this report Chris Keates, the General Secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers said: "The claim that trade unions block reform demonstrates an ignorance of the major developments in the education service in the last five years where unions have been constructive partners with government in workforce reform and drivers for change." Dr Mary Bousted of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said Mr Tice did not understand how ordinary secondary schools worked. "All schools have a high degree of management independence, the national pay system has huge flexibility, the unions in the social partnership, including ATL, are championing reform rather than blocking it and have been working on a new rigorous performance system for teachers and heads," she said. "However, Mr Tice is right about one thing – all schools need to be released from the national curriculum and assessment chains so they can introduce innovation and spontaneity in teaching" (BBC Online).

Spectator

Peter Hoskin comments on the Spectator blog “On Tice’s account, academies are so successful that their underlying ethos should be injected throughout the education system. But this is where Gordon Brown’s failure to be the heir the Blair stands out. Rather than rolling out ‘freedom of management and governance,’ his Government has actually restricted the independence that academies enjoy. The result? Academies won’t perform as well as they can do” (Spectator Online).

Telegraph

The paper said the “Reform think-tank says that schools must be given a final say if discipline is to be restored in failing institutions. Richard Tice, the report author recommends that the Government should remove the Independent Appeals Panels, reduce the role of central initiatives such as the National Curriculum and testing, and challenge the ‘culture power’ of the teaching unions” (Telegraph, Monday, p.14).

Workers Revolutionary Party

Commenting on Reform’s recent report on academies “The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has said a report from the right-wing think tank Reform, has exposed the academy schools programme’s ‘real agenda’, i.e. the drive to privatise and de-unionise education” (Workers Revolutionary Party).

Conservative research via Freedom of Information request: last year 18 per cent of pupils did not receive their first choice of secondary school (Times, p.21; Telegraph, p.12; Express, p.8; Independent, p.13, p.18; Sun, p.2; Mail, p.18).

A document produced by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills argues employers should have more power to shape higher education degrees (FT, p.1, p.2).

Philip Hunter, the Chief Schools Adjudicator has told the Guardian that school catchment areas should be redrawn in order to create a more socially mixed education system (Guardian, p.3, Education Guardian, p.1).

Continued coverage on British university drop-out rates (Guardian, Education, p.12).

The Schools Minister Jim Knight has said that compulsory sex and relationship lessons could be introduced in primary schools (Telegraph, p.6; Mail, p.21).

Health

A report in PR Week refers to Reform’s latest health report: “The Reform think-tank this week put out a report on the state of the health service, called NHS reform: national mantra, not local reality. It was written by Nick Bosanquet, professor of health policy at Imperial College London, along with Reform staffers, and says that the creation of primary care trusts and patient choice have failed to drive significant change in the interests of patients on the ground” (PR Week).

University of Hull author: new generation of SSRIs are ineffective for most patients with depression (Times, p.1, p.2 [GP view]; Telegraph, p.1, p.20 [Dr. Michael Ingram]; Express, p.20; Mirror, p.24; FT, p.3; Independent, p.1; Sun, p.28).

Hospitals across England and Wales earned £102.3 million last year from hospital car parking charges (Telegraph, p.12).

11.3 million people have not gone to the dentist since 2006 because they cannot afford it whilst almost half of the population do not have access to an NHS dentist (Express, p.1, p.9, p.10 [leader]; Independent, p.17).

Economy

Local Government Association: more than 30 councils will reduce services in order to fund new, free bus travel for the over-60s (Times, p.8, p.14 [leader]; Telegraph, p.10).

The Government refused to back equal employment rights for temporary and agency workers (FT, p.2; Sun, p.26).

According to the latest data from the British Bankers Association, the number of new loans to homebuyers – a key guide to future housing demand – fell 31 per cent year on year last month (FT, p.4; Independent, p.11, p.28 [leader]).

The Fair Pay Network has put pressure on the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, to tighten the tax loopholes for the super-rich (Independent, p.9).

Further coverage on non-doms (Guardian, p.26).

Continued coverage on Northern Rock (Guardian, p.26).

Home Affairs

Hastings Youth Court yesterday heard 12 cases of crimes committed after heavy drinking during half term, despite the recently announced package of measures (Times, p.29; Mirror, p.20).

Martin Narey, chief executive of Barnado’s: “I hope we can show the most disadvantaged [children] that there is a way out of poverty and it is called work” (Times Public Agenda, p.7).

Politics

According to the latest monthly poll by ComRets, the Conservatives have opened an 11-point lead over Labour and are on course for an overall majority at the next election (Independent, p.9; Telegraph, p.10; Express, p.8).

Further coverage of position of Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons (Times, p.22; FT, p.2; Independent, p.8, p.8 [Simon Carr], p.28 [leader], p.29 [Steve Richards]; Sun, p.2; Guardian, p.11, p.36 [leader], Mail, p.2, p.14 [leader]; Times, p.22; Telegraph, p.10 p.20 [leader]; Express, p.10; Mirror, p.12).