Public private partnerships are an increasingly significant part of the UK economy (HM Treasury reports ?46Bn already spent with ?26Bn more to be invested by 2010) but historically the management of these projects has been beset by stories of conflict and overrun. In December 2006, Ipsos carried out a survey on behalf of Socia to question Directors of organisations who are involved in these partnerships to find the lessons that must be learned from their experience.
Since the beginning of 2006, patients have been entitled to a choice of four or more hospitals when referred by their GP. The Department of Health commissioned Ipsos to undertake a regular postal survey assessing the implementation of this policy.
Ipsos's March voting intention findings, carried out face-to-face between 9-15 March amongst 1,983 British adults aged 18+, show the Conservative Party eight points ahead of Labour amongst those who say they are absolutely certain to vote.
UK small businesses have been left in two minds on the implications of the Chancellor's swan song Budget. Less than a third (30%) think it will be good or fairly good for business, while 16 per cent feel that it would be fairly bad.
The Scottish Executive commissioned Ipsos, in collaboration with Mott MacDonald, to conduct qualitative research to explore views about the quality of the water environment. and inform policy decisions in relation to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and associated legislation. The research consisted of seven focus groups with members of the general public conducted between 5 October and 24 October 2006 and ten in-depth, one-to-one interviews with stakeholders conducted between 7 November and 14 November 2006. Key themes included: the meanings people attach to the water environment, the values attached to its different attributes, priorities for service provision, and how people should be consulted in the implementation process.
Pulse Check
Pulse Check delivers key insights from Ipsos' Political Monitor, Political Pulse, and Public Services data, along with reactive polling, to help you navigate the evolving political landscape.
Ipsos's latest findings from our quarterly Delivery Index tracker survey show that public confidence in the future of the NHS remains at a very low level, although confidence in the future of education remains higher.
In recent months there have been some high-profile controversies involving the relationship between public sector workers and the Labour Government. The most recent of these involved below-inflation pay rises for public sector workers, as well as opposition to the Government's public sector reforms — particularly with the NHS.
The Scottish Executive has developed A Strategy for a Scotland with an Ageing Population (published March 2007), titled: "All Our Futures: Planning for a Scotland with an Ageing Population" to address the challenges and opportunities posed by Scotland's ageing population. The aim of the Strategy is to provide the framework for:
Scotland's enterprise in education agenda has been driven by the Scottish Executive's 'Determined to Succeed' strategy. This, in turn, forms part of the Scottish Executive's wider enterprise policy agenda and contributes to the top priority of growing the economy. Within the context of the education sector, part of this entails a renewed vision for Scottish schools and education.
Does it make sense to talk about "British public opinion" as a single phenomenon? Surely the public consists of some many different groups with different interests and different strands of opinion that this is far too simplistic a notion? Well, no, not necessarily.
