Reform (think tank)


Reform is a British think tank based in London, whose declared mission is to set out a better way to deliver public services and economic prosperity. Reform describes itself as independent and non-partisan with an aim "to produce research of outstanding quality on the core issues of the economy, health, education and law and order and on the right balance between government and individual."
The Reform Research Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee founded in 2001 by Nick Herbert and Andrew Haldenby.
As well as publishing its own research, Reform also publishes papers by external authors. According to its , recent authors have included Norman Warner, the Labour Peer and former Health Minister; Paul Corrigan, health adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair; the Rt Hon Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills; Jeremy Browne MP, the former Liberal Democrat Minister at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Home Office; and Stephen Greenhalgh, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in London.
Speakers at Reform events have included:
Reform believes that "there has been policy failure in relation to public services over a period of years under all governments" and that, by reforming the public sector and extending choice, high quality services can be made available for everyone. Reform describes itself as "determinedly independent and strictly non-party".
Reform publishes on a variety of different issues, adopting what it considers to be an evidence-based approach to public policy. It says that its key finding is that "the UK's public services and economy have structural problems which demand structural solutions" and that "those most in need of the support of public services lose out most from current provision." It has published reports on health and education reform, Britain's regional economic performance, the economic position of young people, and on the tax and welfare system. It has also produced research that claims to show that the extra spending on public services between 2000 and 2006 has not shifted the trend performance of those services.
Reform states that its vision is of a Britain with 21st-century healthcare, high standards in schools, a modern and efficient transport system, safe streets and a free, dynamic and competitive economy. Reform argues that in the longer term public spending should be reduced to the levels of Ireland and Australia, and tax reduced so individuals can invest in themselves providing for their own and their families’ welfare needs, so more efficiently obtaining high quality services.
Other proposed cuts in public spending that Reform are very keen on implementing cuts to what they call "pensioner gimmicks" such as the winter fuel payment and free TV licensing for the over 75s. Cutting both these "gimmicks" would, they say, save the economy £3.2 billion.

People

Reform's director is Charlotte Pickles. Previous deputy directors include Elizabeth Truss, elected as a Conservative MP in 2010, and Nick Seddon, appointed as a Senior Policy Advisor for Health and Social Care to Number 10 Downing Street.

Advisory Board

Reform has been given a C grade for funding transparency by Who Funds You?