• In Focus

    International Women’s Day 2023: Have gender gaps narrowed?

    In its latest global gender gap report, published in July 2022, the World Economic Forum found that the global gender gap had slightly narrowed between 2021 and 2022. Despite this, it contended that the Covid-19 pandemic had caused a “generational loss” in closing the gap. This article details the findings of the report and some of the actions taken by the government to try to support the education of women and girls in the UK and worldwide.

  • In Focus

    National plan for sport, health and wellbeing: Committee report

    In December 2021, the House of Lords National Plan for Sport and Recreation Committee published a report examining participation in sports and recreation across the UK population. In its report, the committee expressed concern at the high levels of physical inactivity at grassroots level, particularly amongst underrepresented groups such as disabled people and ethnic minorities. It made several recommendations to address this, including calling on the government to develop a new plan for sport, health and wellbeing.

  • In Focus

    Nature-based solutions for climate change: Science and Technology Committee report

    In January 2022, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee published its report on the role of nature-based solutions in mitigating climate change and achieving net zero by 2050. It argued that whilst the government’s plans for nature-based solutions were “ambitious”, they were at “severe risk of failure”. Therefore, it proposed several recommendations, including calling for increases to the budgets of public bodies tasked with delivering nature-based solutions.

  • In Focus

    Preparing for extreme risks: Lords committee report

    In December 2021, the House of Lords Risk Assessment and Risk Planning Committee published a report which examined the UK’s approach to risk assessment and management. It found that the Covid-19 pandemic had revealed that the UK’s risk management system was “deficient” and “too inflexible” to protect the country from risks. The House of Lords is scheduled to debate the report on 12 January 2023. This article examines the report and the government’s response.

  • In Focus

    National risk register: Preparing for national emergencies

    The national risk register provides an overview of the risks of major emergencies that could impact the UK, looking ahead two years at a time. These risks include natural disasters, terrorism and disease outbreaks. With the last register published in 2020 and, therefore, expected to be refreshed imminently, this article examines whether successive governments have mitigated the risks detailed in the register.

  • In Focus

    Staff shortages in the NHS and social care sectors

    Recent data has revealed that the number of vacancies in the NHS and social care sectors has increased since September 2020. Health bodies and organisations have warned that such shortages have affected, and will continue to affect, patients. In recent years, successive governments have introduced measures to tackle staff shortages, including commissioning the NHS to publish a long-term workforce strategy and publishing a white paper on reforming adult social care.

  • In Focus

    Crime and misconduct within the Metropolitan Police

    In recent years, there has been a series of highly publicised controversies involving officers in the Metropolitan Police Service. Following criticism of her handling of the force, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service Dame Cressida Dick resigned in February 2022. Her successor, Sir Mark Rowley, has vowed to improve recruitment, conduct and discipline in the force. The government and other policing bodies have also committed to making improvements.

  • In Focus

    Long Covid: What are the short- and long-term challenges?

    Long Covid is commonly used to describe the symptoms that persist or develop four weeks after contracting Covid-19. With no evidence-based treatment available for long Covid, the condition has impacted the health and employment of people suffering from it. To tackle the challenges presented by the condition, Boris Johnson’s government announced funding to NHS England to support those with long Covid. It has also funded research studies to better understand the condition. Additionally, people suffering from long Covid may be eligible for existing benefits, such as universal credit and personal independent payment.

  • In Focus

    Reviewing the National Heritage Act 1983

    The National Heritage Act 1983 established select museums as non-departmental bodies, governed by a board of trustees. In addition to outlining the boards of trustees’ general functions, the act restricted them from disposing of objects from their collections. With growing calls for some of these museums to return cultural objects in their collections to their countries of origin, some museums and organisations have called for the act to be amended or replaced.

  • In Focus

    Primary and community care: Improving patient outcomes

    This article details primary and community care services and examines their impact on patient outcomes. It also considers recent government policy which has sought to improve these outcomes and discusses several proposals for reforming such services.

  • In Focus

    Status of women and girls in the UK since 2010

    This article examines the status of women and girls in the UK since 2010. This includes a focus on their economic wellbeing, such as employment rates, earnings and the gender pay gap. It also considers the welfare and safety of women and girls, as well as examining opportunities in higher education.

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