tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31199444648731675812012-02-24T10:57:57.882ZWelcome to the blog of NatCen Social Research. We'll be talking about our research in the context of the latest news, opinion and analysis through comments from our team of experts. We'd love to hear from you, so post comments or get in touch with us. <a href="http://www.natcen.ac.uk/">Click here to visit our website</a>.Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.comBlogger1091100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-52205405170980069082012-02-24T10:57:00.000Z2012-02-24T10:57:57.913Z

The murder of a loved one, and the anguish and trauma that follow, is something that the vast majority of us will never have to experience. And so perhaps we don't think of the long term emotional impacts of a homicide and the practical issues families have to cope with. As a result, the support needs of these families are often complex and wide-ranging. This issue has been receiving

Caroline Turleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04561973995291237360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-35589923461090248012012-02-15T11:16:00.000Z2012-02-15T16:06:37.961Z

Prayers cannot be said as part of council meetings. ‘Militant secularisation’ is threatening society. Courts are limiting religious freedom. In recent days the debate around the place of religion in British society today has been livelier than usual. Indeed, battle lines are being drawn. British Social Attitudes, founded and run by NatCen Social Research for nearly 30 years, has long tracked

Lucy Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16260597956400534170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-34172519157611982962012-02-03T16:40:00.003Z2012-02-06T13:41:48.273Z

In the House of Commons today members are debating a bill to get rid of Criminal Records Bureau checks (CRB) for volunteers and replace these with a “fit and proper person certificate” – in effect, a self-declaration by volunteers that they don't have a criminal conviction. Christopher Chope, the MP who tabled this bill, hopes it will solve the problem of potential volunteers being deterred by

Mehul Kotechahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06469349825752294936noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-87752350451406506412012-02-02T14:01:00.004Z2012-02-02T15:29:05.477Z

This is Storytelling Week, which is a good time to be reminded that reading aloud to children fires their imaginations, fosters relationships and is hugely important for creating motivated readers. We know from our own research (as well as our personal experiences) that children love to be read to.In the Evaluation of ‘Every Child a Reader’, which measured the success of a reading programme by

Emily Tanner - Research Director at NatCenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02534881358858992564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-10138936061866491672012-01-31T15:38:00.002Z2012-01-31T15:46:48.847Z

The Guardian this week led with a front page article on a call to ‘end the demonization of rape victims’ . As someone who conducts research with sexual offenders and with survivors of sexual abuse and violence, I read this with great interest.Whilst it’s obviously important that this is on the agenda, it’s also incredibly disappointing that in 2012 this is still an issue. No one welcomes a

Carol Mcnaughton Nicholls - Research Director in the Health and Wellbeing teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05460264258645239333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-8815632082582285302012-01-27T12:02:00.000Z2012-01-27T12:02:33.224Z

The passage of drug offenders in and out of prisons is often referred to as a ‘revolving door’ with offenders no sooner leaving the prison gate than re-entering again via the court system. Drug users are over-represented in the prison population and for these people their offending is disproportionately related to their drug use, either committing crime in order to ‘fund’ a habit or

Helen Rannshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15421898883470763768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-22200906656480045432012-01-27T11:05:00.001Z2012-01-31T14:49:35.754Z

Here in the NatCen Social Research Crime and Justice Team, we are often asked to conduct work about very sensitive topics. A recent example is our research for the Sentencing Council (England and Wales), about the sentencing of sexual offences. The sentencing of crime is often explored in the media and can cause controversy amongst the public. In opinion polls, crime is regularly cited as

Ian Simpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158082319177313730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-54441330314273684182012-01-18T11:16:00.001Z2012-01-19T09:56:23.676Z

There have been a fair few announcements coming from the Department for Education recently. While Michael Gove’s recent changes to the schools admission code, which include allowing successful schools to expand, may not have led the news agenda, they have certainly be causing excitement in suburbs across the land. The change allows - for the first time since 1964 - the expansion of grammar

Victoria Finneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14248318236623399032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-52732049118738269792012-01-13T12:43:00.001Z2012-01-18T11:57:15.252Z

This week’s announcement by the UK coalition government that it believes the devolved Scottish Parliament lacks the legal authority to hold any kind of referendum on independence – as the majority SNP Scottish government wants to do - has stirred up an enormous constitutional row. True, the coalition offered to find a way out of the alleged legal difficulty by using a provision in the

John Curtice, Research Consultant ScotCenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05166945791982441933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-38283948346067669792012-01-11T13:34:00.004Z2012-01-11T13:54:04.695Z

For decades it has been considered not only good practice but absolutely essential to strive for a high response rate if we are to draw valid conclusions about the population from survey data. The long observed trend of declining response rates has raised great concern among those who commission, collect and use survey data. The worry is that those who are not taking part in surveys are

Gerry Nicolaas - Head of Data Collection Methodologyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06398193423236822863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-53758851762943795712012-01-11T10:50:00.003Z2012-01-11T10:56:06.594Z

One of the most important roles for social research is to debunk ‘myths’ and stereotypes about what different people think, feel and do. And one of the most enduring of these is that women are ‘emotional’ while men are ‘rational’ (think Men are from Mars, Women from Venus …). Historically, the notion that women are ruled by their feelings while men are somehow incapable of showing theirs has

Rachel Ormston - Research Director at ScotCenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04444244108880641544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-31328219395524016782012-01-06T14:10:00.007Z2012-01-09T12:56:26.463Z

Last week NatCen Social Research published a wide-ranging review of longitudinal social survey data on food-related behaviours . The first report describes what data exists in Britain on this topic, and the second examines trends and patterns in food choices using the data that are publicly available.The findings have relevance for those of us still thinking about New Year resolutions. The

Julia Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00811038548511812511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-472352356382446812012-01-06T11:19:00.003Z2012-01-06T11:50:58.303Z

Several UK surveys ask about food-related behaviours – like how much fruit and vegetables we eat, whether we add salt to our cooking, or cut the fat off the meat. However, few have explored the factors that drive these behaviours. In particular, what role psychosocial factors – like our intentions, beliefs, habits and social context - might play.Last week, NatCen Social Research published a

Jo D'Ardennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09330041227817147661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-70360377495480283042012-01-03T11:38:00.009Z2012-01-03T12:07:02.110Z

I was very saddened to hear about the death of Sir Roger Jowell over the holiday period. Roger was a colossal influence on the world of social research and an inspiration to so many people (including me). The creation of Social and Community Planning Research (SCPR) with Gerald Hoinville in 1969 was undoubtedly one of his greatest achievements. He possessed a strong belief that social research

William O'Connor - Director of Researchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07559486671108210432noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-68557549460782962302011-12-21T10:03:00.018Z2012-01-03T12:08:29.775Z

Like most organisations at this time of year, people are winding down and looking forward to a well earned rest (and hopefully plenty of festive cheer). All around us we’re being regaled with the highs and lows of 2011. It’s certainly been one hell of a year: from the highs of seeing Kate and Wills riding that chariot down The Mall, to the lows of people walking off with other people’s TVs in

William O'Connor - Director of Researchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07559486671108210432noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-24337446855752577062011-12-20T11:55:00.004Z2011-12-20T12:26:43.653Z

Most of us prefer not to think about death, least of all our own. This understandable reluctance to dwell on our own mortality may partly explain why so many people do not have a will. Studies consistently show that between half and two-thirds of the adult population do not have one and, although will-writing increases with age (and wealth), tens of thousands of people still die each year “

Joel Wolchoverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03910666567784365464noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-21819972156334747462011-12-16T11:54:00.003Z2011-12-16T12:00:05.434Z

The Portas Review, released this week, set out a vision for strengthening, supporting and developing British high streets. A crucial element of this review focused on the need to give communities greater say in how their high streets are developed, their look and feel and sorts of services they offer. This has clear resonance to the localism agenda but raises important questions about how to

Heather Wardle - Research Directorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04910769381030960349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-58510834229542891572011-12-16T09:28:00.000Z2011-12-16T09:28:17.115Z

I woke up last Monday (5th Dec) to the Today programme newspaper reviews, feeling a touch churlish. The reason? The Guardian was launching Reading the Riots , its groundbreaking research collaboration with the LSE, supported by Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Open Society Foundations. The Guardian handed over pages and pages to the work, generating a huge amount of debate and comment. Well

Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-16990401440442454892011-12-15T13:21:00.007Z2011-12-15T14:05:26.384Z

Today David Cameron has announced plans for a network of "troubleshooters" to give more focused support to England's most troubled families. He’s promised to turn around the lives of 120,000 families who have multiple problems and complex, chaotic lives. These families will now get targeted support from dedicated key workers, who will co-ordinate an intensive and persistent multi-agency approach

Matt Barnes - Research Director in the Income &amp; Work Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01013778734345455616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-58227670066425985772011-12-15T10:50:00.000Z2011-12-15T11:57:03.107Z

Family interventions continue to report impressive outcomes for at least half of the families they work with. The latest evidence confirms their success in most areas they are primarily focussed on. For the first time since these services were set up we’ve been able to investigate whether these positive results are directly as a result of the work done by a family intervention. NatCen's impact

Clarissa White - Research Director in the Children and Young People teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17192380077484951380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-54916441224620684652011-12-15T10:48:00.005Z2011-12-15T10:58:18.481Z

The Health Survey for England 2010 published its findings today with chapters covering a wide range of health issues including well-being, sexual health and respiratory conditions. In particular, a chapter about children’s overweight and obesity highlighted some interesting findings around children’s perceptions of their own weight.The majority of 8-15 year olds thought that they were about the

Sally Bridgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05123092000109495988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-13093747727734951452011-12-12T13:18:00.003Z2011-12-12T16:06:32.891Z

Last week has seen some fascinating coverage around the August riots, based on publication of great work by the LSE and Guardian. At NatCen Social Research, we also conducted a study on the disorder for the Cabinet Office. I was fortunate enough to be involved with this research, interviewing a range of people in custody who were convicted for their role in the disorder. During the interviews,

Stephen Webster - Head of Crime &amp; Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15701234859153525052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-10057728557441906672011-12-08T12:40:00.005Z2011-12-08T12:56:34.480Z

Planning for new housing has become a politically-fraught battleground in many parts of England, at a time when house-building languishes at record low levels and dreams of home-ownership recede for many younger people. The previous Government’s approach, involving ‘top-down’ regional and local targets, has been swept away under Eric Pickles new ‘localism’, with local authorities left to make

Professor Glen Bramley, Heriot-Watt Universityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18375558725082043556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-88807843126680624532011-12-08T12:23:00.004Z2011-12-08T12:35:03.314Z

Anyone with an interest in English education can’t have failed to notice a marked stepping up of school choice policy since the UK Coalition Government came to power in May 2010. Last week Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement included a promise of £600 million for the setting up of 100 new ‘Free Schools’ in England, and Michael Gove has said of schools converting to Academy status that

Sonia Exleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05948961130963513481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-18104337764627508512011-12-08T12:07:00.004Z2011-12-09T11:56:33.877Z

On Universal Children’s Day last month, the UK Children's Commissioners warned the government that cuts to children’s services could result in the number of children living in poverty increasing. This will make it even more unlikely that the government will meet its 2020 deadline for the eradication of child poverty, first set out by Tony Blair in 1999.The latest British Social Attitudes reoprt

Liz Cleryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00934188252942046578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-74476776275871506592011-12-07T10:42:00.001Z2011-12-07T10:43:07.049Z

Our 28th British Social Attitudes report is published today.  For the first time, you can get the whole report online, at no cost at all.  We’re very excited to be bringing this rich study to a wider audience.  Stretching back to 1983 (taking in seven elections and five prime ministers), it’s a great source of insight about Britain. The report arrives at a difficult time: increased economic

Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-77843674165674925782011-12-07T10:23:00.004Z2011-12-07T18:18:22.802Z

While world leaders meet in Durban for the UN Climate Change Conference, in Britain the debate around climate change has hit the headlines for another reason. Following the 2009 ‘climategate’, which saw thousands of climate change science emails leaked online, a second batch of emails were leaked from the University of East Anglia’s archives a few weeks ago. While the media reaction has not

Eleanor Taylor - Researcher in the Society and Social change teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15710892341544573652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-52457869409545976122011-12-05T09:27:00.000Z2011-12-05T09:27:22.139Z

A few days after this summer’s riots, I blogged that various commentators were rushing to partisan judgement on the causes. And that social scientists had an important role to play in understanding and communicating the complexity of what had happened.  I had no idea at the time, but Nick Clegg was to announce the following day that research would be commissioned by the government to do exactly

Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-50440023930700607042011-11-30T11:49:00.007Z2011-11-30T11:59:26.845Z

October saw the start of oral testimony to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Inquiry into Gambling and the impact of the Gambling Act, 2005. It’s a hotly contested debate with a diverse cast of actors. Industry members, treatment providers, researchers, regulators and faith groups will all be putting forward their views to the Committee, and at the session on the 22nd November I

Heather Wardle - Research Directorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04910769381030960349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-67428628129814406642011-11-24T16:50:00.005Z2011-11-25T10:12:32.231Z

It’s traditional as we enter into a period of Christmas excess (let’s face it, with the economy the way it is we all need some festive cheer even if it is on the cheap…) for news coverage to turn to those deemed ‘less fortunate’, such as homeless people – and if recent reports by Shelter are anything to go by, that category is also potentially growing.Homelessness isn’t just about losing a home –

Carol Mcnaughton Nicholls - Research Director in the Health and Wellbeing teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05460264258645239333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-33001663089689672072011-11-17T12:20:00.009Z2011-11-17T16:53:34.111Z

We’re all increasingly familiar with the part that Twitter, Facebook and other new social media are playing in our lives. But do we really understand whether they are influencing individual behaviour and attitudes or broader social processes or a separate social space? And as researchers, have we yet worked out the best way to adopt social media as a research tool? As part of the Eighth

Gareth Morrell, Research Director in the Society and Social Change Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13199173834675813088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-48148609809856622122011-11-10T14:27:00.003Z2011-11-30T11:39:23.273Z

NatCen held a very exciting briefing last week entitled “Balancing parenthood and work”. The briefing was well attended with government department policy makers, academics and representatives from various charities with an interest field. The aim of the briefing was to introduce our findings about how mothers and fathers balance family and work life in the first year of their child’s life. I

Mari Toomsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09368327228551676979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-36813821869546382682011-11-09T13:51:00.004Z2011-11-30T11:39:44.633Z

With youth unemployment surpassing the one million mark and as public and private sector employees struggle to cover the spiralling costs of living on frozen or diminished pay packets, the excesses of executive pay are being brought sharply into focus. Disquiet surrounding high pay last year resulted in Will Hutton’s Review of Fair Pay in the Public Sector and the High Pay Commission being

Nilufer Rahimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049768049083207839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-59257848060192037302011-10-26T17:14:00.003+01:002011-11-30T11:40:18.282Z

Earlier this month the Government published its latest obesity report ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A call to action on obesity in England’, which follows the Public Health White Paper at the end of 2010. The Government has called on the food and drink industry to help people reduce their calorie intake as part of the Responsibility Deal Food Network, an initiative based on self-regulation

Joanne Thompson - Senior Researcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03985406301165691541noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-38001521210768045342011-10-24T10:42:00.001+01:002011-10-24T10:52:38.284+01:00

Earlier this year, youth unemployment hit record levels. This week, the number of young people out of work rose to one million. As a graduate now in employment, I have been one of the lucky ones.Just over a year ago I completed my MA in Criminology and Criminal Justice at King’s College London. I worked hard at university, achieved good grades and assumed that finding a job in Social Research

Steve Coutinhohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03173550602034817525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-68675564139344036312011-10-21T11:40:00.009+01:002011-10-21T12:13:59.588+01:00

I recently attended the annual International Workshop on Household Survey Non-response, hosted this year by the Basque Statistics Office. I would like to share with you three broad themes that I took away from the workshop that directly challenge current practices of dealing with survey non-response.First of all, it was highlighted that most attempts to increase survey response rates tend to

Gerry Nicolaas - Head of Data Collection Methodologyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06398193423236822863noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-92004313314481108742011-10-18T14:58:00.007+01:002011-10-18T15:28:39.464+01:00

Over the past few years I have surprised many of my pregnant friends with my knowledge of the finer details of maternity rights, such as exact amounts of Statutory Maternity Pay in different years . This was a by-product of the Maternity and paternity rights and women returners study that I and many of my other colleagues at NatCen have been working on. We interviewed hundreds of mothers and

Mari Toomsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09368327228551676979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-2626217074890544422011-10-12T10:14:00.006+01:002011-10-12T12:48:59.055+01:00

World Mental Health Day was this week. The theme this year was ‘Investing in mental health’, so it was heartening to see the Department of Health and Comic Relief committed to giving £20 million to the next phase of Time to Change , England’s programme to tackle mental health related stigma and discrimination.At any one time, one in six people in England will have a common mental disorder like

Soazig Cliftonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09933668211601641278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-42199946672087717802011-10-03T16:39:00.008+01:002011-10-06T16:37:25.065+01:00

Yesterday, Transport Minister Phillip Hammond announced government plans to revise the motorway speed limit to 80mph. The increase has already triggered responses from both sides of the debate. Road safety campaigns such as Brake and Campaign for Better Transport along with the Green Party claim that the move will encourage dangerous and inefficient driving. Whilst the Association of British

Alun Humphrey - Research Director in the r in the Society and Social Change Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15166231511527966526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-30433051087749373712011-10-03T11:43:00.008+01:002011-10-06T16:37:41.910+01:00

This is a question I’ve been thinking a lot about recently, as I’ve just finished work on some qualitative research into older people’s perceptions of their income and lifestyle, commissioned by the DWP, and the fact that last Saturday was UK Older People’s Day. The really interesting finding to come out of our study was that while the people who took part tended to identify with a ‘comfortable’

Mehul Kotechahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06469349825752294936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-38825793361745282392011-09-28T14:44:00.006+01:002011-09-28T14:56:10.474+01:00

Is it possible to legislate for kindness? And even if we did, would it be enough to get people to change their behaviour?These are important questions and according to Ed Miliband, such considerations will underpin some of Labour’s new, yet to be unveiled, policy proposals. Deciding who is or who is not a good neighbour or who makes the right kind of contribution to their community potentially

William O'Connor - Director of Researchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07559486671108210432noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-77624813479449495252011-09-26T15:34:00.007+01:002011-09-27T10:28:13.678+01:00

Today sees the launch of the latest version of NVivo, the global market leader for software used to analyse qualitative data. It’s a great day for NatCen because NVivo 9 incorporates new features to support our own qualitative analysis technique, Framework. And with it we see the first fruits of our exciting strategic partnership with QSR International.If you’re an existing Framework user,

William O'Connor - Director of Researchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07559486671108210432noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-76179531624766902572011-09-26T11:33:00.007+01:002011-09-27T16:03:14.207+01:00

The Scottish Health Survey provides a yearly update on the health of Scottish people. This year’s report takes data from interviews conducted in 2010, and again focuses on cardiovascular disease and its risk factors.This year’s publication is particularly timely - two days before World Heart Day (29th September), and following the UN General Assembly’s declaration on the prevention and control of

Lisa Given - Senior researcher at ScotCenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09921309970402109726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-37519007600056960452011-09-21T15:17:00.005+01:002011-09-26T15:33:39.157+01:00

Today saw Marina Yannakoudakis, Conservative MEP for London, host a meeting at the European Parliament in Brussels to discuss a Europe-wide initiative to prevent children’s sexual abuse – Stop it Now. Stop it Now UK and Ireland is a campaign that supports adults’ participation in the prevention of abuse, through information, education and a freephone confidential helpline. This helpline is

Stephen Webster - Head of Crime &amp; Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15701234859153525052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-40747525650224843132011-09-19T13:44:00.008+01:002011-09-20T11:11:55.733+01:00

Demos and NatCen, with the support of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, have joined forces for a major new research project – one which aims to radically expand the way we think about poverty as a multi-dimensional phenomenon.Of course, many measures of multi-dimensional poverty already exist. But none have yet captured politicians’ imaginations or resonated with the public. For the most part, we

Claudia Wood - Head of the Public Services and Welfare Programme at Demoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11653492730252915287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-69452463323033452822011-09-16T12:18:00.004+01:002011-09-16T12:23:47.327+01:00

So this week is Sexual Health Week, and this year’s theme is ‘Facts of Life’ – talking to your children about puberty, relationships and sex. The sexual health charity FPA is aiming to help mums and dads have the necessary confidence and information to talk to their children about such issues.Our National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles, or Natsal, includes a series of questions asking

Andrew Phelps - Research Director in the Health and Wellbeing Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06128798327830492576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-53985035920473043542011-09-13T17:09:00.005+01:002011-09-14T11:10:51.650+01:00

As Westminster debates whether the riots were the work of a ‘feral underclass’, new evidence is published of an intervention that is effective in helping ‘troubled’ families. Family Intervention Projects as they were originally known, were set up to work with challenging and anti-social families. The Department for Education (DfE) subsequently extended their remit to target youth crime, women

Clarissa White - Research Director in the Children and Young People teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17192380077484951380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-42330563019298114652011-09-12T15:22:00.007+01:002011-09-12T15:57:03.246+01:00

Suicide arguably remains one of the last taboos. The stigma and myths attached to suicide - and mental illness more generally - can prevent people from telling others about how they feel and seeking help. World Suicide Prevention Day, held every year on the 10th of September, promotes a worldwide commitment to the prevention of suicides and the reduction of stigma.After many years of decline,

Valdeep Gill - Researcher in the Health &amp; Wellbeing teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14647327434053747297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-39424072595114951612011-09-08T12:27:00.012+01:002011-09-13T09:51:02.559+01:00

Since 1985, men who have ever had sex with another man (MSM) have been permanently excluded from donating blood in Britain. Today, ministers announced a change to this rule, so that only those who have had sex with another man in the previous year will be excluded.A major piece of social research - published today in the British Medical Journal - has informed this shift in policy. The research

Sally McManus - Research Director in the Health and Wellbeing Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380802999293068982noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-79064552236510412922011-08-25T11:46:00.004+01:002011-08-25T12:04:02.430+01:00

In the aftermath of last week's riots David Cameron has publicly renewed his commitment to repairing 'Broken Britain' and promised to turn around the lives of 120,000 of the ’most troubled‘ families. But who are these families and where does the 120,000 figure come from? I can shed some light on this, having been involved in the research that identified these families when I was seconded to the

Matt Barnes - Research Director in the Income &amp; Work Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01013778734345455616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-72993542431846586712011-08-23T09:38:00.005+01:002011-08-23T10:05:44.393+01:00

It’s festival time in Edinburgh! The ScotCen team enjoyed a day out last week, when we went to see the fringe show, “Still Life Dreaming”. Inspired by the Lothian Birth Cohort, this play was one of a series of innovative dissemination works based on medial research, put on by the Wellcome Trust as part of their 75th birthday celebrations. The play told the fascinating story of children born in

Louise Marryat - Senior Researcher in ScotCenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12149859846071043830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-23042407598589192011-08-18T12:46:00.003+01:002011-08-18T12:54:03.569+01:00

It was interesting to see that this month’s World Breastfeeding Week focused on communication as one of its key themes. We know how important communication is for new mothers, having spoken to young mothers through our evaluation of the Family Nurse Partnership programme in Scotland. This programme, which is also being tested in England, gives young mothers aged under 20 intensive support from a

Louise Marryat - Senior Researcher in ScotCenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12149859846071043830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-90571675349162110952011-08-16T10:14:00.003+01:002011-08-16T11:29:39.045+01:00

For some time now political control has been devolving from the centre. Individual regions, local authorities, GP consortia, and even neighbourhood communities are increasingly making decisions about their own area. This localism agenda has broad party support and it’s likely to be part of our governance architecture for the long-term. With it come new responsibilities for decision makers. While

Sally McManus - Research Director in the Health and Wellbeing Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380802999293068982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-88592845397104776662011-08-12T13:12:00.006+01:002011-08-15T10:04:35.617+01:00

Last Friday, I was at a 2011 BBC Proms highlight. The Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra is the flagship of Venezuela’s El Sistema, where 250,000 children and young people participate in orchestral music, over three quarters of whom live below the poverty line. The programme is a testament to the transformational power of the combination of opportunity, hard work and music, and reputedly takes many

Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-63788132572710924322011-08-11T10:52:00.005+01:002011-08-11T15:05:02.459+01:00

Last week the Department for Education published its annual Key Stage 2 results. The positive news is that pupils starting secondary school this September have a good grasp of the ‘three Rs’ and there has been an increase in the percentage of 11 year olds reaching expected levels in reading, writing and maths. However, as Schools Minister Nick Gibb was quick to point out, ‘more needs to be done’

Emily Tanner - Research Director at NatCenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02534881358858992564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-60664648343643871182011-08-11T10:10:00.006+01:002011-08-11T16:02:13.917+01:00

Kate and William weren’t the only newly-weds grabbing the headlines this summer. We also saw widespread coverage of the first weddings of same sex couples in New York – the latest and largest US state to introduce Marriage Equality legislation. On this side of the Atlantic, gay and lesbian couples cannot get married, but they can enter into a civil partnership. The main difference between the

Rachel Ormston - Research Director at ScotCenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04444244108880641544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-29668771919809922402011-08-09T10:49:00.011+01:002011-08-15T10:00:21.278+01:00

Today’s publication of the formative evaluation of v, The National Young Volunteers’ Service, brings to mind the age old adage that if you help someone else, you’ll probably end up helping yourself as well. The report contains lots of positive news; over a million volunteering opportunities for 16 to 25 year olds have been created, and it’s not just young people from affluent, white backgrounds

Carol Mcnaughton Nicholls - Research Director in the Health and Wellbeing teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05460264258645239333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-80105093446912312612011-08-08T14:13:00.012+01:002011-08-15T10:01:03.735+01:00

It was great to listen to Ben Goldacre’s programme ‘From Cradle to Grave’ on Radio 4, which rightly celebrated longitudinal research’s amazing contribution to our understanding of how the environment, lifestyle choices and social circumstances impact on our health. But it's not just the medical sciences that deploy longitudinal research to such great effect, these studies are also a powerful tool

Natasha Wood - Senior Researcher in the Health and Wellbeing teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08118275739974134744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-90081851895141715972011-08-05T15:51:00.003+01:002011-08-05T15:57:31.847+01:00

There’s been a quarrel in political and media circles in recent years about whether Britain is broken. Often that debate is linked to the idea of a ‘feral underclass’, an assertion vigorously challenged in a new book called Chavs, The Demonization of the Working Class. A book which reminds me, not for the first time recently, of the messages from often unheard voices elicited by the social evils

Chris Creegan - Director of Corporate Affairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923483405500869471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-39796362057059846682011-08-04T15:21:00.006+01:002011-08-04T15:29:51.551+01:00

I recently attended the European Survey Research Association (ESRA) biannual conference in Lausanne. ESRA was set up to promote communication between survey researchers across Europe with a vision to improve the quality of substantive research and survey methodology in the social sciences. Whilst I was there, NatCen was hosting its annual summer event, which this year featured a debate on the

Lisa Given - Senior researcher at ScotCenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07794716913302818089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-67008001519440612082011-08-02T17:44:00.006+01:002011-08-03T09:56:56.215+01:00

If you were listening to Radio 4 recently you may have heard country singer Dolly Parton discussing her ‘Imagination Library’ programme which provides children with a free book every month from birth to the age of 5. Soon to be rolled out to all children in care in Scotland, the scheme began its UK presence in the unlikely town of Rotherham (a word Dolly acknowledges she still has difficulty

Catherine O'Donnell - Team Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04986006242301189274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-16920362145616401812011-08-02T10:18:00.002+01:002011-08-02T10:21:16.856+01:00

One of the reasons I enjoy working in social research is because it’s still able to surprise me. Take our evaluation of the Graduate Leader Fund, published last week, which reveals that when asked on what grounds they picked their child’s nursery, only 26% of parents said that staff qualifications was one of their top three reasons, in contrast with 47% who said staff experience with babies or

Helen Ranns - Researcher in the Crime &amp; Justice teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330846389681475418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-58550840674763596082011-07-29T12:02:00.000+01:002011-07-29T12:03:13.728+01:00

Coverage of the Survey of smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England has focused – not surprisingly – on the news that fewer children are tolerant of their peers drinking. Given the number of headlines reporting on ‘Binge Britain’, this is great to see. Since 11 to 15 year olds, like the rest of us, are more likely to drink than smoke or take illicit drugs, Chris Sorek from

Liz Fuller - Research Director in the Health and Wellbeing Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11693413805931821748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-20302181356693980612011-07-26T07:16:00.003+01:002011-07-26T09:42:10.843+01:00

The importance of the wellbeing agenda to the government was emphasised yesterday when Gus O’Donnell, Cabinet Secretary, chaired a seminar launching the findings of ONS’ extensive consultation on what should be measured. The National Statistician, Jil Matheson, outlined the high level framework; the proposed measures themselves will be published later this year, and we’ll see preliminary results

Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-36627395964864585342011-07-22T16:33:00.003+01:002011-07-22T16:50:03.883+01:00

Key to staying healthy into old age is eating well and advice for healthy ageing includes eating a balanced diet, getting enough vitamin D (through sun exposure and eating vitamin D-rich foods such as oily fish) and taking it easy with alcohol. New evidence from the second year of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) indicates that people aged 65 and over in the UK eat more fruit,

Caireen Roberts - Senior Nutritionist in the Health &amp; Wellbeing teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17132117507248969469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-31105615994010559462011-07-20T16:01:00.002+01:002011-07-20T16:07:07.691+01:00

There’s been ongoing interest over the last few years in the area of behaviour change, piqued recently by David Brooks book, The Social Animal. Politicians are said to be considering the notion that emotional responses, rather than material, economic gain, should be factored in to a greater extent when designing policy on behaviour change - as Brooks asserts. His is a curious, entertaining and

Carol Mcnaughton Nicholls - Research Director in the Health and Wellbeing teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05460264258645239333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-34935213094639941122011-07-19T09:57:00.005+01:002011-07-20T12:41:16.452+01:00

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) released statistics last week showing that 700,000 more families in the UK became fuel poor in 2009. This meant 5.5 million or one in five of all households needed to spend more than 10% of income maintaining an adequate level of warmth. This month, both British Gas and Scottish Power announced significant increases to fuel bills. Consumer Focus

Sally McManus - Research Director in the Health and Wellbeing Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380802999293068982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-59370778689541174012011-07-14T06:32:00.003+01:002011-07-14T09:40:10.306+01:00

So - it’s all okay then.  The villain Murdoch slinks back into the shadows. A victory for the public? Well, up to a point. The truth is we’ve witnessed wholesale and shocking institutional failure. In best selling newspapers. At the press ‘regulator’. In the Met. And among politicians.     It’s so stark that for once, I really don’t need to use any of our research evidence to prove a point. (

Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-21047370988407480722011-07-13T11:23:00.003+01:002011-07-13T11:28:20.941+01:00

In April 2011 the new public sector Equality Duty came into force. Its aim is for public bodies to consider the needs of people – employees and service users - with protected characteristics.Public bodies and authorities are required to publish information on how they’re meeting the duty. This includes reporting at least annually on how policies and practices are affecting staff and service users

Michelle Gray - Research Director in the Questionnaire Development and Testing (QDT) Hubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17666052615294608826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-33687356334452787882011-07-11T16:13:00.003+01:002011-07-11T16:18:10.023+01:00

Last week saw Mend’s second annual National Childhood Obesity Week - to raise awareness of the dangers of being above a healthy weight in childhood.Scotland has one of the worst obesity records amongst developed countries. The estimated cost to the NHS in Scotland of obesity and related illnesses in 2007/8 was more than £175 million. No surprise then that tackling obesity is a key priority for

Louise Marryat - Senior Researcher in ScotCenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12149859846071043830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-52191746232242092502011-07-08T13:15:00.003+01:002011-07-08T13:24:39.257+01:00

The Big Society seems rarely out of the news. Central to the Conservatives’ vision for government, it’s intended to mark a step change in the delivery of public services and the relationship between government and citizens: "The basic premise is that if everyone gives a little of themselves, the benefits for the whole of society can be enormous." David Cameron, 23/05/11Whatever you think of its

Andrew Scott - Researcher in the Society and Social Change Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03057338096113686634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-7292329006068482242011-07-07T09:51:00.003+01:002011-07-07T10:00:09.860+01:00

On Monday the Dilnot Commission published its much anticipated report on the future of social care funding in the UK. There’s widespread agreement that the current funding system is broken and needs complete reform, but opinion on how exactly this can be achieved seems divided. Concerns have already been raised about the potential cost to the tax payer of implementing the report’s recommendations

Margaret Blake - Research Director in the Questionnaire Development and Testing (QDT) Hubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14745247384280853061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-83791705262361318062011-07-04T15:17:00.006+01:002011-07-04T17:41:56.519+01:00

In my last blog I focused on how social research knowledge can contribute to the debate about what the Big Society is and how it can be brought to life. But there’s an even bigger challenge for social research in all of this: it remains to be seen whether any of this will work.Given its flexible definition and organic nature, how do we measure whether the Big Society exists and whether it’s

Gareth Morrell, Research Director in the Society and Social Change Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13199173834675813088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-50064171068683911642011-06-30T14:54:00.004+01:002011-06-30T16:02:28.332+01:00

We’ve all read the headlines recently about youth gang violence and the worrying news about teenage drinking. But what’s the truth behind theses headlines? Who are these young people and what are their circumstances? Our latest research, for the Department for Education, looks at the complex problems experienced by society’s most vulnerable young people, and how these problems play out in later

Matt Barnes - Research Director in the Income &amp; Work Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01013778734345455616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-4601434365740127402011-06-21T12:39:00.002+01:002011-06-21T12:43:23.982+01:00

MPs voted last night to give the Pensions Bill a second reading but ministers have promised to look at ‘transitional arrangements’. A look at recent evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) sheds light on why one aspect of the bill has caused such disquiet.If the Bill becomes law as it stands it will mean that by 2018 the age at which women can draw their state pension will

Natasha Wood - Senior Researcher in the Health and Wellbeing teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08118275739974134744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-26381084405203080152011-06-15T09:57:00.003+01:002011-06-15T10:05:12.328+01:00

A recent Panorama programme revealed shocking incidents of abuse of disabled people at Winterbourne View care home in Bristol. In doing so it highlighted serious shortcomings in the inspection and regulation of residential care homes. We must all hope this leads to real improvements.A question that arises out of the Panorama programme is “how prevalent is the abuse of people in residential homes

Sam Clemens, Head of the Health and Wellbeing Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12687025127915272443noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-16875907176554728102011-06-10T11:51:00.003+01:002011-06-10T12:00:52.769+01:00

Many of you will have watched the BBC’s documentary ’Poor Kids’ on Tuesday night. It was a powerful hour of television that highlighted the plight of children in the UK growing up in poverty. The programme showed the terrible housing conditions that these children were living in, with 10-year-old Paige from Glasgow telling viewers that the mould in her damp-ridden flat made her ill.Our research

Matt Barnes - Research Director in the Income &amp; Work Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01013778734345455616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-57417918512771419592011-06-07T13:17:00.003+01:002011-06-08T15:59:28.968+01:00

Recently, the NSPCC released data obtained by Freedom of Information requests to all 43 police forces in England and Wales. The statistics show police recorded more than 23,000 child sexual abuse offences in 2009/10, an increase of 8% on the previous year. These recorded crime statistics are important because our other barometer of crime prevalence – the British Crime Survey – doesn’t ask

Sally McManus - Research Director in the Health and Wellbeing Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380802999293068982noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-14035191281507604572011-06-06T10:33:00.005+01:002011-07-07T14:52:03.610+01:00

“War may always be prevented, by those who adopt the principles of peace, being at all times prepared to resist injustice and oppression; and this preparation may easily be effected by wise arrangements in the education of the young.”Robert Owen, Essays on the Principle of the Formation of Human Character (1813)When Robert Owen, an industrialist and social reformer, pioneered early education over

Paul Bradshaw - Research Director at ScotCenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12871854731662417981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-86324971141660022362011-06-03T09:06:00.002+01:002011-06-29T12:25:00.567+01:00

This week has seen a lot of press coverage of our report, The Reality of Generation Rent: Perceptions of the first time buyer market. Commissioned by the Halifax, it’s a great example of the value of social research to decision makers across sectors – from banking to government. The report highlights the difficulty people aged 20-45 face in purchasing their own home. It was published on the same

Alison Blackwell - Research Director in the Society and Social Change Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01397380824371586310noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-89716543638562670812011-06-02T11:33:00.005+01:002011-06-08T15:52:23.911+01:00

Last week, Robert Buckland, the MP for Swindon South, introduced a Bill into Parliament to improve the support available for people with autism by calling on the Government to ask NICE to develop a proper Quality Standard for autism. We know that many people with autism and their families struggle to get the help and support they need. But research that I’ve been involved with has highlighted

Sally McManus - Research Director in the Health and Wellbeing Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380802999293068982noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-50229199374137314342011-05-31T17:44:00.003+01:002011-06-08T15:49:09.500+01:00

Today saw release of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) annual report, which tells us that over the last year 414 children were helped, 513 people arrested and 132 offender networks broken up in the UK. The release of these figures says much for the continuing excellent work of CEOP. But given NSPCC figures published last week on the prevalence of child abuse, none of us

Stephen Webster - Head of Crime &amp; Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15701234859153525052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-58676513335452083812011-05-30T18:05:00.005+01:002011-06-08T15:45:30.042+01:00

This week, the Prime Minister reinforced his commitment to building a bigger, stronger society, with stronger relationships, communities and families at its core. The speech comes on the back of a flurry of recent reports and publications grappling with the essence of Big Society and how to realise it. In his introduction to the recent report of AVECO’s Commission for the Big Society, Lord

Gareth Morrell, Research Director in the Society and Social Change Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13199173834675813088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-11974181101768609512011-05-20T08:41:00.004+01:002011-06-08T15:42:22.399+01:00

At the time of writing, Chris Huhne’s future as a cabinet minister depends not on any alleged speeding offence on the M11, but on whether there was a cover up, and if he can ride out the storm whatever the truth. This perhaps disguises the fact that speeding itself arouses strong passions. In one corner, Richard Brunstrom, ex chief constable of North Wales, who famously likened speeding

Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-14789620719815808332011-05-19T11:01:00.006+01:002011-05-19T12:01:40.775+01:00

This week is Dying Matters Awareness Week. Research published to coincide with the week finds that death is still a taboo subject for most people: only a fifth of us have talked to anyone about the sort of care and support we’d like at the end of our lives. Assisted dying – helping someone who wishes to die to do so – is probably one of the most controversial and complex issues when it comes to

Alison Park - Head of Society &amp; Social Changenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-137635915802074042011-05-16T15:24:00.010+01:002011-05-16T16:19:23.651+01:00

My colleague Penny Young, Chief Executive at the National Centre for Social Research, recently participated in a Market Research Society sponsored debate on the topic, ‘Is research more democratic than elections?’Penny was speaking in favour of the motion, seconding Nick Moon from GfK/NOP. Unfortunately Nick and Penny lost, but it sounds like a fascinating discussion, hard on the heels of an

Chris Creegan - Director of Corporate Affairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923483405500869471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-9643479893863395002011-05-04T06:23:00.010+01:002011-05-16T17:36:47.053+01:00

Given the relentless media focus on cabinet ministers squabbling over the Alternative Vote referendum, some voters in England could perhaps be forgiven for not entirely realising that voters in the devolved Nations are electing their own administrations tomorrow. In Scotland, it will be the fourth election to the Scottish Parliament since devolution. I also find it surprising that the London

Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-734448404939228382011-05-01T07:55:00.010+01:002011-05-19T11:59:07.798+01:00

Politicians entered the 2010 election campaign knowing that public faith in them had taken a real battering following the expenses scandal. Such was the level of disquiet, that four in ten of the public now said that they “almost never” trusted a government of any colour to put the national interest first; a figure which had quadrupled since the late 1980s when only 11% expressed such cynicism.

Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-27901713188794255192011-04-28T07:14:00.007+01:002011-05-30T18:51:15.130+01:00

Our comms team has been wondering whether I'm going to blog on the Royal Wedding. Of course, I say. Perhaps I'll predict it will be the last of its kind.  I'll imagine 2040 when their first child gets married. All the royalists will have died off and today's young people simply won't be interested. That kind of thing. ‘Have you actually looked at the data?” says Anne, always super alert because

Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-38143682523403419462011-04-20T08:54:00.004+01:002011-05-16T17:38:13.348+01:00

The launch of Action for Happiness is a good moment to reflect on the health of the ‘well-being’ initiative; especially since we’ve just submitted our response to the ONS consultation (Measuring Well-being). It’s an area that has proved fertile ground for sceptics. The Action for Happiness website inevitably provides added fuel and unintended comedy value. A quick browse in “340 Ways to Use

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The coalition government's social mobility strategy is in many ways a great piece of social science. Full of compelling insight (much of it pre-existing, but nothing wrong with that), clearly presented, and deserving of a considered read. Understandably, many commentators are already questioning whether the policies underpinning the strategy will actually oil the wheels of social mobility when

Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-45868753325692654232011-04-05T09:37:00.012+01:002011-05-16T17:38:56.155+01:00

Last December, in the lead up to the publication of our annual British Social Attitudes survey, we had our usual pre-publication tussles about what to highlight from the study - given the huge range of insight it provides on how British society is changing.  But one thing in particular hit us between the eyes, and we commented extensively on it:   record levels of satisfaction with the NHS.  In

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Most of you will remember that the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) cancelled the Citizenship Survey back in January, following a brief consultation. Last week it published the individual submissions to the consultation and its reasons for cancelling.   I worry that we're beginning to see signs that individual decisions that make perfect sense to individual departments risk

Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-58437687533012739132011-03-10T09:46:00.004Z2011-05-16T17:43:58.755+01:00

As part of its drive to cut smoking, the government announced yesterday (No Smoking Day) that from next year, large shops in England will have to keep cigarettes on sale well out of sight. It is also consulting on whether manufacturers should be forced to put cigarettes into plain packets. For some, this is 'nudge' in action: making it easier for people to make the right choices. Andrew Lansley

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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has just released figures on older workers, showing that the proportion of 65 and overs in the workforce has doubled in the last 10 years. There are now 870,000 workers aged over 65 and they make up 3% of the UK workforce. While still a small proportion of the overall workforce, this is nevertheless a real structural shift. ONS has also said that

Penny Young - Chief Executivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14663942588350143905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119944464873167581.post-61206819735455882772011-02-28T15:35:00.003Z2011-05-16T17:43:27.051+01:00

I heard a wonderful scientist on the Today programme last week: Professor Paul Younger is drilling 2000 metres below the city of Newcastle in the hope of finding hot water which can then be pumped up as clean heating energy for the people of Newcastle. What brilliant ambition and sheer ingenuity. We love to admire scientists and engineers: they are fantastic at inventing and discovering things

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We pride ourselves at the National Centre for Social Research on our understanding of how people behave. We've done a lot of work on various 'vices' (smoking, drinking, drugs), including the subject of this blog: gambling. The Gambling Commission has just published the survey we conducted in 2010 - led by Heather Wardle -  looking at how much gambling there is in Britain. You can see Heather

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Top people's pay is in the news again: Eric Pickles, Communities Secretary, is today proposing that councillors vote on local government salaries over £100K.  And yesterday, Anthony Fry, a BBC Trustee, told the Public Accounts Committee that the BBC should have taken action on senior executive salaries much sooner. He said that some BBC salaries will seem like telephone numbers to those on

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It's National Marriage Week and Iain Duncan Smith marked it with a speech celebrating the virtues of marriage. He wants extra financial help for married couples and those in civil partnerships, arguing that marriage is the foundation for stable families, and that stable families result in better outcomes for children. So I wonder what he would make of our latest research, on attitudes to

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David Cameron’s speech this weekend at the Munich Security Conference had a lot to say about how well integrated – or not - different communities are into British life: “Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and apart from the mainstream.  We’ve failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they

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