Evidence briefings

Since the introduction of the Children Act 1989 there has been increased pressure on agencies working with children to refer them to social care, but little recognition of the negative impact on families.

The ‘pre-proceedings process’ was introduced to ensure assessments are carried out prior to court proceedings, and to save court resources and complete care proceedings more quickly. Reforms have succeeded in reducing the length of cases, but courts are not taking the pre-proceedings stage into account.

Researchers have analysed the historical evidence of antimicrobial resistance to examine possible scenarios for epidemic outbreaks. Sound public health policies can substantially reduce the impact of antimicrobial resistance – focusing both on the supply pipeline of new drugs and the public consumption of antimicrobials.

Research shows that hospital performance varies widely across a wide range of indicators, but hospital competition can improve management and increase performance in terms of quality, productivity and staff satisfaction.

Research shows no simple link between ‘dangerous’ religious ideas and violent action, but rather a complex combination of social triggers and individual characteristics. More dialogue is needed between policymakers, media and communities to achieve more accurate and nuanced representations of conflicts and violence.

Social media have become a key information source for the public when terror attacks occur. Analysis after the Lee Rigby murder shows important lessons for the police and authorities in taking the heat out of a tense situation and reducing the opportunities for ‘secondary crimes’.

With constrained public spending the support for private R&D investment has to be targeted effectively. An analysis from the Enterprise Research Centre provides the first systematic overview of policies and their effectiveness in increasing private investment.

Ethnic minorities and women seem to be under-represented as entrepreneurs and with lower levels of business performance. A research on enterprise diversity has focused on key issues including access to finance, market selection and management skills.

Selective supply-side support, based on tax incentives, to boost affordable rented housing has proved successful - with conditions that keep rents below market levels and the incomes of eligible tenants below defined thresholds, over a specified long-term time period.

There are two fundamental economic problems with the current planning system: a damaging restriction on the supply of space and an economically inefficient use of land. Less restrictive land allocation responsive to prices, more local incentives and a focus on housing space could reform the current planning policy.