Policy Briefing 23 April 2010: Election Manifestos

Following the announcement that the general election is to take place on May 6th, the civil service has entered into “purdah” which means that civil servants cannot engage in policy activity of any form.

In the absence of any announcements or consultations, this briefing will focus on the detail of the three main parties’ manifestos.

Most of the content of the Conservative and Labour manifestos compile previously announced policies, however the release of the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto details their policy position at greater length than previously offered and allows us to see where they might stand on various issues in the event of a hung parliament.

At a time when the major parties are striving to present themselves as utterly unique, what is surprising is the consensus actually shared between the parties in numerous policy areas. All parties pay lip service to the creation of more personalised public services built around the user and for increased citizen control of public services through mutuals or co-operatives. Other common themes include a commitment to Apprenticeships, the need for preventative or community health care, and the creation of a Green investment Bank.

The one area of contention perhaps most significant to Skills-Third Sector, however, is the intent of both the Conservatives and Lib Democrats to scrap the post-LSC reforms to the skills system in favour of a single skills body.

Labour

The Labour party launched their election manifesto, A Future Fair for All on April 12th. It pronounced the ambition to create “a modern, progressive Britain based on fairness, respect, decency and openness.” Much of the manifesto concerns itself with seeking to differentiate itself from the Conservatives through its more cautious position on spending cuts (aka “securing the recovery”). It includes the bold promise to ring-fence frontline spending on childcare, schools, the NHS and policing. In terms of public service transformation it promises the creation of a “personalised welfare state” and outlines the potential of Total Place to achieve better services and more savings at a local level.

The Third Sector

The manifesto states that “the voluntary and community sector has a new lease of life, but needs its potential to be fully harnessed.” Labour intends to build upon this through various policy initiatives.
A Social Investment Bank to make additional capital available to social enterprises with an initial endowment of £75 million funding from dormant accounts.
A promise to maintain the independence of the voluntary and community sector, including its campaigning role.
A consultation on whether the Compact Commission should be put on a statutory footing to ensure greater support for the Compact.
A National Youth Community Service for all young people to contribute a minimum of 50 hours work to their communities by the age of 19.
“New Mutualism” to encourage organisations to run on co-operative principles, with an expansion of Community Interest Communities and third sector mutual organisations to be promoted through Business Link and the Regional Development Agencies.
The use of Community Shares to support investment in football clubs, local pubs, renewable energy and local shops.
Community Land Trusts to enable people to purchase and run local amenities and assets in their area such as youth facilities, parks and open spaces. A promise to work with Housing Associations to develop a new form of affordable housing targeted at families on modest incomes who are disadvantaged in the private-rented and social housing sectors.
Social Impact Bonds to encourage private investors to support the voluntary sector in crime prevention.
Support for older people to get involved in their community through match-funding for elderly volunteering projects.

Education & Skills

The manifesto offers a range of measures on early years, schools, higher, further education, and workplace training. However, it preaches caution that funding for learning and skills “will not rise as fast as in recent years, making tough choices necessary”.
A saving of £950million in education through collaboration and efficiency in back-office functions and procurement, as well as £500 million from cuts to quangos and central budgets.
An expansion of free nursery places for two year olds and 15 hours a week of flexible, free nursery education for 3 to 4 year-olds.
A promise to pioneer the model of mutual federations running groups of local Children’s Centres in the community interest.
A reading, writing and arithmetic guarantee of one-to-one or small-group tuition for every child underachieving at primary school.
A proposal to devolve more power and responsibility for schools through the accredited schools programmes (with a target of 1,000 such schools by 2015), with mergers and take-overs and “a new generation of not-for-profit chains of schools”.
A proposal to explore new cooperative trust schools where parents, teachers and the local community come together to help govern their local school.
Parents will be able to trigger a ballot on whether to bring in new school leadership from a proven and trusted accredited provider.
School Report Cards to present clear information on standards, levels of parental satisfaction and behaviour.
New providers to be encouraged to take over existing Pupil Referral Units.
A guarantee of education or training for every young person until 18.
Plans to increase the quality of the teaching profession through an expansion of the Teach First scheme; the creation of new Teacher training Academies; and £10,000 “golden handcuffs” to attract the best teachers into the most challenging schools.
A local pupil premium to guarantee that extra funding follows the deprivation of pupils. Children’s Trusts, children and youth services to work closely with schools and colleges, increasingly co-locating wider children’s services with schools.
University Technical Colleges and new Studio Schools to offer curricula involving practical learning and paid work.
Advanced apprenticeships to be expanded, creating up to 70,000 places a year, and apprenticeship scholarships to allow the best apprentices to carry on to higher education.
An ambition for 75% of the population to enter university or complete an advanced apprenticeship by the age of 30.
A promise that priority in the expansion of higher education is given to Foundation Degrees and part-time study.
Skills Accounts to enable learners to find out what training they are entitled to, the level of funding available and the benefits of training for their careers.

Poverty & Worklessness

The manifesto features various reforms to welfare along a more conditional model, as well as reforms to high-street banking to ensure financial inclusion.
A guarantee of work for anyone unemployed for more than two years.
An additional 200,000 Future Jobs Fund places, offering a job or training place for young people out of work for six months.
National Minimum Wage to rise in line with average earnings and a £40 “better-off in work” guarantee.
The creation of a People’s Bank at the Post Office, offering affordable financial products.
A Universal Service Obligation on banks so that all consumers with a valid address have a legal right to a basic bank account.
A new levy on banks to help fund a step-change in the scale of affordable lending by third sector organisations
The Low Pay Commission to be given additional responsibilities to report on productivity and career progression in low-skilled, low-paid sectors, bringing together representatives from the business community and social partners.
An extension of the public duty to promote equality of opportunity at work, pay reviews and equality checks via the Equality Act.
Protection of the Child Trust Fund and an additional £100 for disabled children. A commitment to end rough sleeping by 2012 and offer foyer-based supported accommodation and training to homeless 16 and 17 year olds.

Health & Social Care

The manifesto offers a new vision of patients as “active partners with enforceable guarantees, real choice, and direct control over services” and declares the intention to support an “active role for the independent sector” in the provision of care.
The right to choose a GP in any area.
A focus on prevention and early intervention to save long-term health costs.
All hospitals to become Foundation Trusts with support and incentives to take over underperforming hospitals and expand community-based provision.
An extension of the right for staff across the NHS to request to run their own services in the not-for-profit sector.
Everyone with a long-term condition to have the right to a care plan and an individual budget.
An interim National Care Service to ensure free care in the home for those with the greatest care needs and a cap on the costs of residential care so that everyone’s homes and savings are protected from care charges after two years in a care home.
A comprehensive National Care Service, free at the point of use for all adults with an eligible care need by 2015 and a Commission to reach a consensus on the right way of financing it.
The creation of a National Social Work College to improve the standard of the social work profession.

The Environment

In terms of environmental policy, Labour expresses the desire for greater energy supply from the third sector and the expansion of green jobs.

The creation of a Green Investment Bank matched with £1 billion of private-sector investment to invest in low-carbon infrastructure, with the Government’s stake funded by the sale of infrastructure assets.
The creation of 400,000 new green jobs by 2015.
A commitment to ensure that all new homes will be zero-carbon by 2016 and the planned construction of “eco-towns” to lead on green living standards.
“Pay as you save” home energy insulation, energy-bill discounts for pensioners and a requirement for landlords to properly insulate rented homes.
Greater competition in the energy supply market, supporting community organisations, co-ops and social enterprises to provide energy services.
Work with community organisations to make it easier to find and use sites for local “grow your own” schemes.

Conservatives

The Conservative Party manifesto, Invitation to Join the Government of Britain, was launched on April 13th. An economic focus is fairly prominent within the manifesto, with George Osbourne’s “New Economic Model” taking up more pages than David Cameron’s “Big Society”. The New Economic model is to be built upon a reduced budget deficit, less borrowing, increased exports and reduced dependency on financial services. The manifesto details plans to make government smaller through cuts to Whitehall, regional planning and “the unaccountable quango state”, and to increase public sector productivity through encouraging diversity of provision and payment-by-results.

The Third Sector

The Conservatives’ manifesto recites the intention to use the state to foster social action, featuring numerous announcements on the third sector.
A community “right to buy” scheme to give local people the power to protect any community assets that are threatened with closure.
A community “right to bid”’ for people to run services instead of the state.
Implementation of the Sustainable Communities Act Amendment Bill to give local communities the right to propose actions in their area to improve sustainability.
Cabinet Office funding to train independent community organisers to help people establish and run neighbourhood groups.
Support for co-operatives and mutualisation as a way of transferring public assets and revenue streams to public sector workers.
The creation of a Big Society Bank, funded from dormant bank assets, to provide new finance for neighbourhood groups, charities, and social enterprises to bid for government contracts and deliver services.
A fair deal on grants to give voluntary sector organisations more stability and earn a competitive return for providing public services.
The launch of an annual Big Society Day to celebrate the work of neighbourhood groups and encourage more people to take part in social action.
A National Citizenship Service to provide a programme for 16 year olds to develop the skills needed to be active and responsible citizens and get involved in their communities.
A reform to the Big Lottery Fund to focus purely on supporting social action through the voluntary and community sector.
Greater use of private and voluntary sector providers to train and rehabilitate offenders when they leave prison on a payment by results basis.

Education & Skills

The Conservatives’ education policy states a continued interest in Academy schools and Apprenticeships but declares the intention to bring responsibility for funding and skills back into a single agency, following the upheaval of the LSC.

Plans to allow all existing schools the chance to achieve Academy status and extend the programme to primary schools.
A Pupil Premium to guarantee extra funding for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Expansion of Teach First and the introduction of two new programmes – Teach Now, for people looking to change career, and Troops to Teachers, for ex-service personnel – to get high-qualified people into teaching.
Plans to raise the entry requirement for state-funded teacher training so that graduates need at least a 2:2 in their degree to qualify.
Plans to make the national curriculum and exams more robust by giving universities and academics more say over their form and content.
“Proper” vocational and technical education that engages young people and meets the needs of modern business through the creation of Technical Academies.
The creation of 20,000 additional young apprenticeships.
Reforms to Ofsted so that it operates as a more “rigorous and targeted” inspection regime, reporting only on core areas, with the best schools being subject to less frequent inspection.
A proposal to use Train to Gain funding to create 400,000 work-pairing, apprenticeship and college places over two years, with a payment of £2000 to SMEs for each apprentice hired.
A Community Learning Fund to help people retrain for new careers.
Set colleges free from direct state control and abolish many further education quangos.
Public funding to follow the choices of students and be delivered by a single agency, the Further Education Funding Council.
Provide 10,000 extra university places this year, paid for by giving graduates incentives to pay back their student loans early on a voluntary basis.

Poverty & Worklessness

The Conservative manifesto also proposes a more conditional approach to welfare.
Child Trust Funds to be provided only to the poorest third of families and those with disabled children.
A free national financial advice service, funded in full through a new social responsibility levy on the financial services sector.
A single Work Programme for the unemployed to offer targeted, personalised help to be delivered through private and voluntary sector providers on a payment-by-results basis.
Local Work Clubs to enable people looking for work to gather to exchange skills, find opportunities, make useful contacts and provide mutual support.
A requirement for long-term benefit claimants who fail to “work for the dole” on a community work programme.
Compulsory equal pay audits for any company found to be discriminating on the basis of gender.

Health & Social Care

The manifesto promises further measures towards personalised care, including putting patients in charge of decisions about their care and control of health records.
The Department of Health to be renamed the “Department for Public Health” to take account of its wider remit.
A health premium to weight public health funding towards the areas with the worst health outcomes.
An increase of 4,200 more Sure Start health visitors.
Plans to increase NHS spending in real terms every year.
Every patient to be given the power to choose any healthcare provider that meets NHS standards, within NHS prices, including voluntary and community sector providers.
GPs to be given the power to hold patients’ budgets and commission care on their behalf, and to commission local health services.
The creation of an independent NH S board to allocate resources and provide commissioning guidelines so that funding decisions are made on the basis of need and commissioning decisions according to evidence-based quality standards.
A single budget for people with a chronic illness or a long-term condition that combines their health and social care funding, which they can tailor to their own needs.
Support for carers through direct payments to help with care needs and improve access to respite care.
Allow anyone to protect their home from being sold to fund residential care costs by paying a voluntary one-off insurance premium for a care service.

The Environment

Conservative policies on the environment propose to extend low-carbon economic growth through both private investments and individual incentives.
Aim of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.
The creation of a Green Investment Bank to leverage private sector capital to finance new green technology start-ups.
The introduction of a “Green Deal”, giving every home up to £6,500 worth of energy improvement measures paid for out of savings made on fuel bills over 25 years, with at least 10% apprentices among the staff employed by Green Deal providers.
Increase the proportion of tax revenues accounted for by environmental taxes, ensuring that additional revenues through energy-saving are used to reduce taxation elsewhere.
A 10% cut in central government emissions within a year.
Local authorities to be given the power to establish new district heating networks which use bio-gas and other low-carbon fuels.
Allow communities that host renewable energy projects to keep the additional business rates they generate for six years.
Council incentives for households to go green such as payments for recycling.

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats launched their manifesto on the 14th April. “Fairness” again features prominently, with four key steps to a “fairer Britain” - reformed taxation, job creation, targeted help for children and constitutional reform. The Liberal Democrats’ manifesto gives the most attention to environmental issues, drawing attention to the environmental implications of their policies throughout.

The Third Sector

The Liberal Democrats’ policy stance towards the third sector is the least extensive and mostly focuses on the expansion of co-operatives, mutuals, and social enterprises and their role in the creation of a more balanced and mixed economy.

Plans to pass a new Mutuals, Co-operatives and Social Enterprises Bill and give responsibility for mutuals to a specific minister.
“Easy Giving Accounts” to be introduced at publicly-owned banks to allow people to operate charitable giving accounts alongside their current accounts.
Reform to Gift Aid to operate at a single rate of 23% – giving more money to charity while closing down a loophole for higher rate tax payers.
Reform to the process of CRB checks so that volunteers need only one portable record rather than multiple checks for each activity.
Strengthen the Youth Service by making it a statutory service and encourage local authorities to provide in partnership with the voluntary sector.
Implement the Sustainable Communities Act Amendment Bill to give local communities the right to propose actions in their area to improve sustainability.

Education & Skills

The Lib Dem education policies are remarkably similar to the Conservatives’, sharing the intention to halt reforms to the LSC and the promise of a Pupil Premium (but with speculative figures).

A reduction in the size of the department of Children, Schools and Families and a renewed focus on a few strategic priorities.
A £2.5 billion “Pupil Premium” to boost education opportunities for disadvantaged children to be spent to cut class sizes; attract the best teachers; offer one-to-one tuition or provide out-of-school support.
Improve teacher training by increasing the size of the school-based Graduate Teacher Programme and the expansion of Teach First to attract more top graduates into teaching.
The establishment of a fully independent Educational Standards Authority (ESA) to replace the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) and the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (OFQUAL). This new body will oversee the examinations system, school inspections and the curriculum.
Replacement of the National Curriculum with a Minimum Curriculum Entitlement to be delivered in every state school.
Creation of a General Diploma to bring GCSEs, A-Levels and high quality vocational qualifications together, enabling pupils to mix vocational and academic learning.
A promise to close the funding gap between school six forms and Further Education colleges.
An Education Freedom Act to prevent politicians from getting involved in the daily running of schools.
Replacement of Academies with “Sponsor-Managed Schools,” commissioned by and accountable to local authorities.
Allow any appropriate provider, including educational charities and parent groups, to be involved in delivering state-funded education.
Completely abolish Tuition Fees over a six year period.
A National Bursary Scheme for students, so that each university gets a budget suited to its students’ needs awarded on the basis of studying strategic subjects (e.g. sciences and mathematics) or financial hardship.
Replace the Skills Funding Agency and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with a single Council for Adult Skills and Higher Education.
Scrap the “arbitrary target” of 50% of young people attending university, focusing effort instead on a balance of college education, vocational training and apprenticeships.
Fund 15,000 new places on Foundation Degree courses and fully fund the off-the-job costs of adult apprenticeships for one year.
End Train to Gain funding for large companies, restricting funds to SMEs. The money saved will be used to cover the course fees for adults taking a first Level 3 qualification.

Poverty & Worklessness

The Lib Dems back significant reform to high-street banking, as well as the promise to scrap the compulsory age of requirement.

No payment on income tax for the first £10,000 earned.
A three month work placement scheme paying £55 a week to up to 800,000 young people who cannot find a job to gain skills, qualifications and work experience.
The introduction of fair pay audits for every company with over 100 employees to combat discrimination in pay.
Disabled job seekers to receive better practical help to get to work, using voluntary and private sector providers, as well as JobCentre Plus services.
The National Minimum Wage to be set at the same level for all workers over 16.
The abolition of the compulsory retirement age.
Improved access to banking for all with a PostBank, revenues from which will also help to secure the future of the Post Office.
Impose maximum interest rates for credit cards following consultation with the financial industry and consumer groups.
End government payments into Child Trust Funds
Funds for owners to renovate 250,000 empty homes through grants for social housing or loans for private use.

Health & Social Care

The Lib Dems’ health policies also feature a focus on prevention rather than treatment as well as a promise of cuts to bureaucracy and the “seamless” integration of health and social care.

Plans to cut the size of the Department of Health by half and abolish Strategic Health Authorities.
Use the money for the Personal Care At Home Bill to provide guaranteed respite care for the one million carers who work the longest hours.
Set up an independent commission to develop proposals for long-term care of the elderly.
Empower local communities to improve health services through elected Local Health Boards, which will take over the role of Primary Care Trust boards in commissioning care for local people in co-operation with local councils.
Local Health Boards will also be given the freedom to commission services for local people from a range of different types of provider.
Give every patient the right to register with the GP they want, with those treating the most deprived patients to receive extra payments.
A week’s respite for the one million carers who spend 50 hours a week looking after a sick relative.

The Environment

The Liberal Democrats have the most extensive plans on the environment. They seek to use the substantial purchasing power of government to expand the market for green products and technologies.

A target for 40% of UK electricity to come from clean, non-carbon-emitting sources by 2020.
The creation of a United Kingdom Infrastructure Bank to use public money to attract private finance for infrastructure projects such as new rail services and green energy.
A £3.1 billion job creation and green economic stimulus package used to create 100,000 jobs, which will include:
£400 million to refurbish shipyards so that they can manufacture offshore wind turbines and other renewable energy equipment.
A one year Eco Cash-Back scheme to give people £400 to make home adjustments.
Extra money for schools who want to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings.
£140 million to provide new, accessible low-carbon bus services.
The encouragement of community-owned renewable energy schemes where local people benefit from the power produced.
A ten-year programme of home insulation to offer a home energy improvement package of up to £10,000 per home, paid for by the savings from lower energy bills.
Make sure every new home is fully energy-efficient by improving building regulations.
Improve energy efficiency in the commercial and public sectors, by strengthening the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme and requiring companies and government departments to report on their energy use and set targets for reducing it.
Promote the transition to a low-carbon economy in Europe, by moving unilaterally and immediately to an EU emissions reduction target of 30% by 2020.

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