Report

A preventative approach to public services

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government sets out how the next government can use a new parliament to shift to a preventative approach to public services.

Whoever wins the general election will be unable to deliver high-performing public services – and keep taxes and debt at sustainable levels – unless it commits to a prevention strategy that limits the rising tide in demand for acute services like hospitals and prisons.

Published with UK Youth, the report sets out how the next government can use the opportunity of a new parliament to shift to a preventative approach to public services that seeks to address and manage citizens’ problems before they reach crisis point. This would reap financial and political benefits by helping tackle the crises in the NHS, criminal justice, youth services and beyond – and lead to happier and healthier lives for millions.

The report, which is based on an evidence review, expert interviews, and a high-level roundtable with current and former senior policy makers from the centre of government, departments, local government, the NHS and wider public sector, finds a strong case for prevention. There is good evidence, for example, that investment in benefits, primary care, public health, youth work, and Sure Start children’s centres, among other services and programmes, all deliver benefits both in improved lives and in monetary terms.