Forests for the People

The public forest estate no longer serves a public purpose. It occupies 10% of the area of Great Britain and over 15% of the rural area of mainland Scotland. All of this is outside local control. Over the last eighty years the national forest policy has been a complete failure and the Forestry Commission is to blame. There has been no return on investment, no commercial value and worst has failed to deliver on any of its objectives. The authors claim that the public forest estate should be freed from government constraints and protection. The woodlands should be returned gratis to the residents of the communities of which they could then become part.

Miles Saltiel is an investment banker with experience of the privatizations of Eastern Europe. Allan Stewart MP is a former Minister of State at the Scottish Office.

Read the full paper here.

The Fortune Account

In 'The Fortune Account', Dr Eamonn Butler and Dr Madsen Pirie argue that individuals should be able to opt out of the state welfare system into an individual, funded and privately managed 'Fortune Account' which will provide lifetime insurance and basic pension benefits. This will allow people to accumulate savings when young, fit and in work, in order to fund their needs in retirement or when unemployed, sick, or disabled.

Read the whole paper here.

Hunting of the Quango

Britain's ace quango-hunter stalks his costly quarry once again. He reviews the history and growth of quangos and the departments with the worst record in harbouring them. Then he proposes sunset legislation by which quangos would face automatic extinction after a few years, and ne disclosure rules for the quangurus. Despite being written over 10 years ago it's still relevant to the debate on quangos today. Especially in light of the governments over reliance on them and the ceaseless expansion of both their numbers and their size.

Read the whole paper here.

20-20 Vision

20–20 Vision sets out a clear and coherent set of goals, and constitutes a radical agenda for innovation and reform. Written in 1994 it puts forth one hundred indicative targets that are viable for Britain to achieve over the next 25 years. It covers a wide range of subjects that cover the fabric of British society. Examples of the targets are: nursery education for three and four year–olds; top rate of tax of 20% and a basic rate of 10%; trains will link cities at speeds in excess of 200mph; the "tagging" of persistent offenders; renovation of housing stock making them energy sufficient and noise insulated; zero pollution for city transport and industry; the whole population to be in Health Maintenance Organisations; the NHS more doctor–based and more local; more private provision replacing state benefits. This report draws on the work of more than 25 contributors. The emphasis throughout is on private funding, voluntary effort and free enterprise, rather than on public money.

Read the full report.

The End of the Welfare State

This report argues that it is time for the welfare state to be transformed. The authors argue for a new structure which can gradually be built out of the existing one. They present ways in which this can be achieved despite the financial constraints which contributing individuals and Treasury officials will impose. As such, this report sets forward a clear and intellectually coherent alternative to the welfare state, together with the means which can be used to bring it about. It thus presents a bold challenge to the conventional welfare thinking which has so visibly and lamentably failed to achieve its objectives.

Read the full paper.

The Amnesia of Reform

A review of post-Communist privatization. The authors find that the purpose of economic reform and privatization had been forgotten nor deliberately ignored in post-Communist countries. Firms were privatized in an unreconstructed and shoddy state, shareholders have no power, monopolies are protected, conflicts between ministries continued. The authors demanded that UK policy change to ensure effective reforms, they outlines new ways to overcome the problems and make privatization popular and beneficial.

Read the full report.