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The 2000 Freedom of Information Act was the subject of post-legislative scrutiny by the Ministry of Justice and the Commons Justice Committee in 2011 and 2012. Both the Ministry and the Justice Committee drew heavily on work by Professor Robert Hazell and colleagues in the Constitution Unit at UCL. The Unit developed the conceptual approach to evaluate the impact of FOI, and provided much of the evidence base. The evidence contributed to the decision that, despite pressure from senior political and Whitehall figures, the Act would not be significantly amended.
Though the individual research agendas have distinctive emphases, the contributions of Aughey, Birrell and Trench have become integral elements in understanding the development of devolution in the United Kingdom (UK). The impact of this work, through engagement with Parliamentary Commissions, Parliamentary and Assembly Committees and policy think tanks, helps define for politicians, administrators, interest groups as well as the general public the relationship between English and British identity, how devolved institutions operate in the context of central government programmes and the options for policy makers in devising financial arrangements which respect devolved autonomy, English interests and UK equity.
Wilford's research-based evidence to a Standing Committee of the NI Assembly (NIA) tasked to review options for the reform of both the Assembly and the NI Executive has exerted impact on several of its recommendations, including a holistic review of the NIA's committee system; the strategic redesign of the Executive, including a reduction in the number of Executive Departments; provisions for an Official Opposition; and the `hollowing-out' of the Office of First and Deputy First Minister.
Professor Patrick Dunleavy, as Director of the LSE Public Policy Group (PPG), has led a research programme on digital era governance. The results of this programme, through published research, evidence to Parliament and direct consulting to government agencies (including the National Audit Office), have had a significant impact on the UK government's approach to the delivery of government services online. Specifically, the research has allowed the government to develop policies that have facilitated speedier and more effective digital changes, and increased the breadth and quality of public service delivery online.
This case study focuses on the impact of Professor the Lord Norton of Louth's body of research on constitutional structures and procedures as that relates to the creation of mechanisms of post-legislative scrutiny in the UK Parliament. Since his ennoblement in 1998, the impact of this body of research on many areas of public policy, law and services has been both direct and linear, and via Norton's continuing contributions in the Lords chamber and through his chairmanship and membership of various parliamentary committees. The research that he conducted through the Centre for Legislative Studies, specifically that related to parliamentary monitoring of the effects of legislation and post-legislative scrutiny in the UK informed heavily Norton's Chairmanship of the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution, leading this committee and others to press the Government successfully to adopt specific proposals regarding systematic post-legislative review. Since 2008, UK Acts of Parliament are normally reviewed three to five years after enactment. This became established procedure and is included in the Cabinet Manual. Clearly, the official adoption of the body of research by the UK Parliament has impacted every piece of UK legislation passed in the current REF period.
In a drive to improve efficiency and to increase user participation, local authorities have been set eGovernment targets and priorities by central Government. However, limited resources, conflicting priorities and internal political pressure have resulted in a lack of focus when it comes to implementing such changes and progress towards achieving e-Government has a) been slower than expected and b) had less impact than anticipated.
Research undertaken at Brunel broadened knowledge of e-Government and delivered these benefits:
The research created a body of knowledge that enabled delivery of novel and effective change and is contributing to making the UK a world leader on e-Government.
The impact pertains to material changes instituted in UK devolution, principally in Wales, but increasingly beyond. The impacts on public policy, law and services are:
This impact occurred in the period from 2008-2013 and flowed from research led by Professor Laura McAllister which had identified:
Essex research on the causes and consequences of devolution substantially changed the way BBC News and Current Affairs reports on the nations of the United Kingdom. Professor Anthony King's research on devolution underpinned a 2008 report that he was commissioned to prepare for the BBC Trust. The report examined BBC News and Current Affairs' coverage of the UK's nations and made recommendations as to how this coverage could be improved. The BBC Trust and BBC management accepted the bulk of King's recommendations. The result, still in evidence, has been a transformation in the quality and quantity of the BBC's relevant television, radio and online output, including a seven-fold increase in references to devolved institutions in subsequent years' broadcasts.
Research conducted at the University of Sheffield on the `unbundling' of the state through the use of various forms of arm's-length bodies (or quangos), undertaken in association with a range of professional and regulatory bodies, has contributed to and informed subsequent governmental and parliamentary reforms. More specifically, research has shaped: core elements of the coalition government's `Public Bodies Reform Agenda'; the Public Bodies Act 2011; reforms within the Cabinet Office; the introduction of triennial reviews; and, a review of the public appointments system. Furthermore, research into the control and management of public bodies has led to the identification of a number of institutional and skills-based gaps being addressed by the coalition government.
This case study encompasses research carried out within the participation and representation research group. It reflects a body of research on elected bodies at UK, devolved and local tiers, which has taken place within the School over the past twenty years. Among other things it has: provided the principal body of data collection and analysis on Scottish local elections; influenced debates on the (lack of) diversity of representatives, particularly women; and fed into debates about stimulating voting and enhancing political literacy. The research continues to develop and have an impact, for example with recent work on citizenship and political education and the role of public petitions in elected bodies.