Reform today launches its report on the public finances.  The hole we are in and how to get out of it can be found at www.reform.co.uk

The report shows that a fiscal stimulus package in the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget Report would prolong the recession and damage the economy.

The public finances

The report finds that: “The UK economy has become obese. The country has been bingeing on debt, and over-consuming without working off the excess. The result is an overweight economy with unproductive, clogged arteries.”


The UK is entering recession in a vulnerable state.  Public and household debts are huge; the UK’s structural budget deficit is the 4th highest in the OECD; its trade deficit is growing; and high public spending programmes are predicated on out-of-date forecasts of GDP growth.

 Victims and witnesses who have successfully spoken out against crime and anti-social behaviour were praised today by the Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Adviser Louise Casey on a visit to Sheffield.

BBC proposals to launch a local online video service would have a significant negative impact on commercial providers, an independent Ofcom Market Impact Assessment (MIA) concludes today.

Policy makers and parents should stop using test scores as the basis for judgements on how students and schools perform, a charity coalition has warned.

The credit crunch and the downturn in the housing market have been blamed for the decision to delay the start-up of Northstowe, the proposed new town in Cambridgeshire which is a test bed for the Government's eco-town initiative.

The Government faces a massive one million shortfall in building new homes, new research by Shelter shows.

Waste disposal in Cumbria is set to be transformed after councillors today approved a 25-year deal worth more than £700million to slash the amount of rubbish going to landfill.

Futurebuilders England is seeking feedback on three new products it is thinking about launching as part of its ongoing commitment to help develop market power in the third sector.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities (LAs) need to continue to work together to deliver a new strategy for a safer and healthier Britain – that was the message heard today at this year’s HSE/LA partnership conference.

Steria and Land Registry have today announced a five year partnership, worth £50 million, which will see the European end-to-end IT services company provide a managed ICT (information and communication technology) service for the organisation’s Distributed IT Infrastructure (DITI) and Extranet services. The account was awarded to Steria following an eighteen-month intensive procurement process.