Blog Post Tackling Inequalities Unleashing the power of public procurement Understandably given the pressure on budgets, the focus is often on procuring public services at the lowest possible cost. But there is a growing recognition of the potential to use public procurement more imaginatively to promote innovation and promote a range of broader social purposes. In Wales we spend around £6 billion pounds annually on […] Read more Topics: Economy October 30, 2019
Report Environment and Net Zero Achieving a prosperous economy: insights from other nations and regions This report summarises the evidence from approaches that have improved economic performance in a selection of areas in the UK and Europe. Identifying areas comparable with Wales can be problematic, as it is neither possible nor practical to find exact matches in terms of economic histories or trajectories. Nonetheless, we believe that looking at other […] Read more Topics: Economy October 24, 2019
Blog Post Tackling Inequalities Tackling Inequalities through Gender Budgeting With the opportunity provided by the Gender Equality Review and the commitment to feminist principles by the Welsh Government, the time is ripe for the Government to step fully into a gender analysis of its budget process. With the framework of the Well-being of Future Generations Act and the implementation of integrated impact assessments, that […] Read more Topics: Diversity and inclusion Economy October 21, 2019
Report Environment and Net Zero The Value of Trade Unions in Wales Trade unions are an integral part of the Welsh Government’s social partnership model, and more broadly an essential part of the economic and social landscape in Wales and across the world. The Wales TUC commissioned the Wales Centre for Public Policy to consider the evidence on the value of trade unions in Wales, and how […] Read more Topics: Economy Local government October 16, 2019
Report Environment and Net Zero At the Tipping Point: Welsh Local Government and Austerity This report outlines Welsh councils’ responses to austerity, drawing on interviews with Welsh council leaders, chief executives, finance directors, and external stakeholders. Councils have responded to austerity in three main ways: by making efficiency savings; by reducing the need for council services; and by changing the role played by councils and other stakeholders. There are […] Read more Topics: Economy Local government June 26, 2019
Report Environment and Net Zero Migration in Wales In December 2018, the UK Government published an Immigration White Paper which detailed migration policy after Brexit, and incorporated a number of recommendations from an earlier report by the Migration Advisory Committee. This report discusses the likely impact of these policies on the Welsh economy. Although the proportional reduction in migration will be higher in […] Read more Topics: Diversity and inclusion Economy March 18, 2019
Blog Post Tackling Inequalities We need to talk about procurement On 4th February we published a major new report on procurement. Beyond contracting: public service stewardship to maximise public value argues that politicians and chief executives need to use procurement strategically to maximise economic, social and environmental outcomes for their local communities, rather than just going for the lowest cost option. The launch event with […] Read more Topics: Economy February 26, 2019
Blog Post Environment and Net Zero Is the future of the economy threatening local taxation? This is the second of our guest blogs expanding on some of the wider tax policy questions that couldn’t all be fully explored within the parameters of our Welsh tax base research last year. Here, Hugo Bessis of the Centre for Cities considers the impact of the rise of automation and high street retail closures […] Read more Topics: Economy Local government February 14, 2019
Blog Post Community Wellbeing Growing the Welsh tax base through business rates: risks, rewards and trade-offs It has been six months since we published our report examining the risks and opportunities of fiscal devolution to the Welsh tax base. Our discussions with tax policy colleagues in the Welsh Government and experts and academics from across the UK threw up plenty of issues which couldn’t all be fully explored within the parameters […] Read more Topics: Economy Local government February 7, 2019
Blog Post Community Wellbeing Beyond contracting: public service stewardship to maximise public value In this blog, John Tizard, co-author of our latest report Beyond contracting: public service stewardship to maximise public value, introduces some key issues and arguments. This is part of our series on public procurement – find out more here. The public sector in Wales spends over £6bn per year on the procurement of services, works […] Read more Topics: Economy Local government February 5, 2019
