Panic-buying and stockpiling during Covid disrupted the supply chain, causing food shortages and impacting the vulnerable. The government faced criticism for its lack of food system resilience, poor communications planning, and reliance on retailers. The British media frequently reported on panic-buying during early lockdown stages in 2020 and throughout Covid. The media play an important role in communicating information to the British public during times of crisis and influence public opinion. This mixed-method study examined English media portrayal of panic-buying, analysing text and visual data from six of the highest-circulating newspapers from March to July 2020. It reviewed reporting trends, use of imagery, themes, and prominent stakeholder voices. Content analysis of 209 articles showed that coverage was dominated by popular and left-wing press, with 89% of articles using sensationalised language and 68% coded as negative. In a subset of 125 articles, visual imagery showed empty shelves in 64% of analysed images, reinforcing the impression of food shortages. Supermarkets were the most quoted stakeholders, appearing in 62% of articles. Contradictions included reports of no food shortages alongside images of empty shelves and early newspaper advice encouraging stockpiling. Reporting peaked between March 16–22, 2020. Six key themes were identified: supermarket prominence, food supply/access, food policy, individual behaviour, socio-economic impacts, and panic-buying drivers—all themes had relevance to food system resilience. Future civil unrest linked to food-system challenges, potentially driven by climate change, conflict, or political instability, could see panic-buying play a significant role. Research on media portrayals of panic-buying can help policymakers enhance communication strategies and identify critical issues during crises. The Covid pandemic revealed crucial lessons about the media’s potential role in shaping public behaviour, highlighting the need for stronger government communication and collaboration with both the media and retailers to ensure consistent messaging, particularly to protect vulnerable groups.

Panic-buying and stockpiling during Covid disrupted the supply chain, causing food shortages and impacting the vulnerable. The government faced criticism for its lack of food system resilience, poor communications planning, and reliance on retailers. The British media frequently reported on panic-buying during early lockdown stages in 2020 and throughout Covid. The media play an important role in communicating information to the British public during times of crisis and influence public opinion. This mixed-method study examined English media portrayal of panic-buying, analysing text and visual data from six of the highest-circulating newspapers from March to July 2020. It reviewed reporting trends, use of imagery, themes, and prominent stakeholder voices. Content analysis of 209 articles showed that coverage was dominated by popular and left-wing press, with 89% of articles using sensationalised language and 68% coded as negative. In a subset of 125 articles, visual imagery showed empty shelves in 64% of analysed images, reinforcing the impression of food shortages. Supermarkets were the most quoted stakeholders, appearing in 62% of articles. Contradictions included reports of no food shortages alongside images of empty shelves and early newspaper advice encouraging stockpiling. Reporting peaked between March 16–22, 2020. Six key themes were identified: supermarket prominence, food supply/access, food policy, individual behaviour, socio-economic impacts, and panic-buying drivers—all themes had relevance to food system resilience. Future civil unrest linked to food-system challenges, potentially driven by climate change, conflict, or political instability, could see panic-buying play a significant role. Research on media portrayals of panic-buying can help policymakers enhance communication strategies and identify critical issues during crises. The Covid pandemic revealed crucial lessons about the media’s potential role in shaping public behaviour, highlighting the need for stronger government communication and collaboration with both the media and retailers to ensure consistent messaging, particularly to protect vulnerable groups.

Advani, Hughson and Tarrant (2021) model the revenue that could be raised from an annual and a one-off wealth tax of the design recommended by Advani, Chamberlain and Summers in the Wealth Tax Commission’s Final Report (2020). This deposit contains the code required to replicate the revenue modelling and distributional analysis. The modelling draws on data from the Wealth and Assets Survey, supplemented with the Sunday Times Rich List, which we use to implement a Pareto correction for the under-coverage of wealth at the top.Around the world, the unprecedented public spending required to tackle COVID-19 will inevitably be followed by a debate about how to rebuild public finances. At the same time, politicians in many countries are already facing far-reaching questions from their electorates about the widening cracks in the social fabric that this pandemic has exposed, as prior inequalities become amplified and public services are stretched to their limits. These simultaneous shocks to national politics inevitably encourage people to 'think big' on tax policy. Even before the current crisis there were widespread calls for reforms to the taxation of wealth in the UK. These proposals have so far focused on reforming existing taxes. However, other countries have begun to raise the idea of introducing a 'wealth tax'-a new tax on ownership of wealth (net of debt). COVID-19 has rapidly pushed this idea higher up political agendas around the world, but existing studies fall a long way short of providing policymakers with a comprehensive blueprint for whether and how to introduce a wealth tax. Critics point to a number of legitimate issues that would need to be addressed. Would it be fair, and would the public support it? Is this type of tax justified from an economic perspective? How would you stop the wealthiest from hiding their assets? Will they all simply leave? How can you value some assets? What happens to people who own lots of wealth, but have little income with which to pay a wealth tax? And if wealth taxes are such a good idea, why have many countries abandoned them? These are important questions, without straightforward answers. The UK government last considered a wealth tax in the mid-1970s. This was also the last time that academics and policymakers in the UK thought seriously about how such a tax could be implemented. Over the past half century, much has changed in the mobility of people, the structure of our tax system, the availability of data, and the scope for digital solutions and coordination between tax authorities. Old plans therefore cannot be pulled 'off the shelf'. This project will evaluate whether a wealth tax for the UK would be desirable and deliverable. We will address the following three main research questions: (1) Is a wealth tax justified in principle, on economic or other grounds? (2) How should a wealth tax be designed, including definition of the tax base and solutions to administrative challenges such as valuation and liquidity? (3) What would be the revenue and distributional effects of a wealth tax in the UK, for a variety of design options and at specified rates/thresholds? To answer these questions, we will draw on a network of world-leading exports on tax policy from across academia, policy spheres, and legal practice. We will examine international experience, synthesising a large body of existing research originating in countries that already have (or have had) a wealth tax. We will add to these resources through novel research that draws on adjacent fields and disciplines to craft new solutions to the practical problems faced in delivering a wealth tax. We will also review common objections to a wealth tax. These new insights will be published in a series of 'evidence papers' made available directly to the public and policymakers. We will also publish a final report that states key recommendations for government and (if appropriate) delivers a 'ready to legislate' design for a wealth tax. We will not recommend specific rates or thresholds for the tax. Instead, we will create an online 'tax simulator' so that policymakers and members of the public can model the revenue and distributional effects of different options. We will also work with international partners to inform debates about wealth taxes in other countries. The modelling draws on data from the Wealth and Assets Survey, supplemented with the Sunday Times Rich List, which we use to implement a Pareto correction for the under-coverage of wealth at the top.

Women’s Health Needs in Birmingham (2024)Women’s Health Needs in Birmingham (2024). The Gender-related Health Inequalities programme aims to influence and support local actions to reduce health inequalities affecting women, men and non-binary populations in Birmingham. Beneath these inequalities lie many interconnected factors such as social determinants, risk behaviours, and gender norms around health-seeking. There are also important intersectional factors, with certain subgroups of people being particularly disadvantaged – e.g. homeless people, sex workers or those in contact with the criminal justice system.The Women’s Health Needs in Birmingham (2024) report aims to highlight key health inequalities experienced by women in Birmingham. The research found that women's health in Birmingham faces a number of challenges spanning the need for greater prevention of premature mortality linked to lifestyle-related risk factors, specialist, intersectional approaches to mental health service provision, improvements in maternal care, and a multi-agency approach to reducing violence against women and girls. 17.7% more women under 75 died from cancer in Birmingham compared to England (OHID, 2022). Despite women in Birmingham experiencing high mortality rates from circulatory, respiratory, and cancer-related illnesses, screening for cancers such as breast and cervical cancer remains lower than national. Furthermore, cardiovascular disease (CVDs) disproportionately affects Birmingham's female population. The prevalence of obesity, especially among marginalized communities, exacerbates health inequalities, with socioeconomic status strongly linked to risk factors including low rates of physical activity and lower levels of health literacy.All the above highlight the growing need to develop a gender-based approach to reducing health inequalities in the city.For further details, please visit: https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/50342/public_health_reports/2946/gender_health_inequalities Viewing and downloadingThis dataset contains unstructured files such as documents, PDF's and images. To view and download the files click on the Table tab at the top and select the desired file in the File name column. You may use the filters to further refine your selection.

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Panic-buying and stockpiling during Covid disrupted the supply chain, causing food shortages and impacting the vulnerable. The government faced criticism for its lack of food system resilience, poor communications planning, and reliance on retailers. The British media frequently reported on panic-buying during early lockdown stages in 2020 and throughout Covid. The media play an important role in communicating information to the British public during times of crisis and influence public opinion. This mixed-method study examined English media portrayal of panic-buying, analysing text and visual data from six of the highest-circulating newspapers from March to July 2020. It reviewed reporting trends, use of imagery, themes, and prominent stakeholder voices. Content analysis of 209 articles showed that coverage was dominated by popular and left-wing press, with 89% of articles using sensationalised language and 68% coded as negative. In a subset of 125 articles, visual imagery showed empty shelves in 64% of analysed images, reinforcing the impression of food shortages. Supermarkets were the most quoted stakeholders, appearing in 62% of articles. Contradictions included reports of no food shortages alongside images of empty shelves and early newspaper advice encouraging stockpiling. Reporting peaked between March 16–22, 2020. Six key themes were identified: supermarket prominence, food supply/access, food policy, individual behaviour, socio-economic impacts, and panic-buying drivers—all themes had relevance to food system resilience. Future civil unrest linked to food-system challenges, potentially driven by climate change, conflict, or political instability, could see panic-buying play a significant role. Research on media portrayals of panic-buying can help policymakers enhance communication strategies and identify critical issues during crises. The Covid pandemic revealed crucial lessons about the media’s potential role in shaping public behaviour, highlighting the need for stronger government communication and collaboration with both the media and retailers to ensure consistent messaging, particularly to protect vulnerable groups.

In March 2011, the Coalition Government set out a vision for Government ICT at the heart of delivery of efficient, cost-effective public services which are responsive to the needs of citizens and businesses. We identified a series of challenges which ministers, departments, Chief Information Officers, IT professionals and other civil servants faced in using ICT to meet the requirements of a modern state. We set out a programme for:

Making government ICT more open to the people and organisations that use our services, and open to any provider – regardless of size; Reducing the size and complexity of projects, and better manage risks; Enabling reuse of existing ICT systems and ‘off the shelf’ components, reducing duplication, over-capacity and saving money; Moving towards a common infrastructure in government, increasing efficiency and interoperability; Reducing procurement timescales and making it easier and simpler for SMEs to compete for government business, supporting the aspiration that 25% of Central Government procurement spend should go to SMEs by the end of this Parliament (2015); and Improving the implementation of big ICT projects and programmes, and supporting the IT profession in government and the public sector. This report sets out progress one year into implementing the Government’s ICT strategy. A number of significant successes have been chalked up, including the launch of the Public Services Network frameworks; the launch of the Government Digital Service; and the creation of the CloudStore. These are still early days for implementation, but progress has been good, as noted by the National Audit Office.

We also demonstrate this Government’s commitment to transparency and openness by the publication for the first time of a range of metrics relating to ICT in government. These will be developed to provide a more consistent benchmark for future years, demonstrating how uptake of the strategy is progressing. The next set of metrics will be published in October 2012, and we will report on progress again in Spring 2013.

Panic-buying and stockpiling during Covid disrupted the supply chain, causing food shortages and impacting the vulnerable. The government faced criticism for its lack of food system resilience, poor communications planning, and reliance on retailers. The British media frequently reported on panic-buying during early lockdown stages in 2020 and throughout Covid. The media play an important role in communicating information to the British public during times of crisis and influence public opinion. This mixed-method study examined English media portrayal of panic-buying, analysing text and visual data from six of the highest-circulating newspapers from March to July 2020. It reviewed reporting trends, use of imagery, themes, and prominent stakeholder voices. Content analysis of 209 articles showed that coverage was dominated by popular and left-wing press, with 89% of articles using sensationalised language and 68% coded as negative. In a subset of 125 articles, visual imagery showed empty shelves in 64% of analysed images, reinforcing the impression of food shortages. Supermarkets were the most quoted stakeholders, appearing in 62% of articles. Contradictions included reports of no food shortages alongside images of empty shelves and early newspaper advice encouraging stockpiling. Reporting peaked between March 16–22, 2020. Six key themes were identified: supermarket prominence, food supply/access, food policy, individual behaviour, socio-economic impacts, and panic-buying drivers—all themes had relevance to food system resilience. Future civil unrest linked to food-system challenges, potentially driven by climate change, conflict, or political instability, could see panic-buying play a significant role. Research on media portrayals of panic-buying can help policymakers enhance communication strategies and identify critical issues during crises. The Covid pandemic revealed crucial lessons about the media’s potential role in shaping public behaviour, highlighting the need for stronger government communication and collaboration with both the media and retailers to ensure consistent messaging, particularly to protect vulnerable groups.

This dataset maps the parliamentary activity of House of Commons MPs from x small parties during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic (March 2020 - March 2021). To enable comparisons it also includes the year prior to the pandemic (March 2019 - March 2020). The parties included here are: Alliance, DUP, Green, Liberal Democrat, Plaid Cymru, SDLP, SNP. It firstly includes a mapping document showing which contributions were made virtually and which were made in person on the floor of the House of Commons. Similar information is shown here also for Scottish Labour and Conservative Party MPs. Secondly, it includes all contributions made by these small party MPs across the March 2019 - March 2021 period. This includes: party, name of MP, date of contribution, contribution period (relating to different rules for parliamentary business during the pandemic), type of contribution (virtual/physical) and venue (Commons chamber, Westminster Hall).We tend to think of British Politics as being dominated by two political parties (the Labour Party and the Conservative Party). This is reflected in the style of parliamentary politics at Westminster, in which an elected government is opposed by the 'Official Opposition'. Debate tends to move between the two. Observers of the weekly Prime Minister's Question Time will see a prime demonstration of this, when the leader of the Official Opposition is granted the privilege of speaking from the dispatch box (something which is denied to the leaders of all other parties), and has the opportunity to ask up to six questions to the Prime Minister. The leader of the second opposition party receives two questions. Smaller opposition parties receive no such guarantee of a question. This two party dominance is therefore reinforced by parliamentary procedures, which grant greater speaking time as well as committee memberships to the largest opposition party. But small parties have played pivotal roles throughout nineteenth and twentieth century UK politics. They have become even more popular in the twenty first century as the appeal of the large parties has waned amidst a somewhat disillusioned electorate. The Labour Party and the Conservative party were regularly polling over 90% of the vote in the mid twentieth century, but managed only 67% in 2015.This gap is being filled by smaller parties, of which over 300 are currently registered with the UK Electoral Commission. These parties are contesting more seats than ever before in local elections and, crucially, they are winning a significant number of seats in national elections, to the UK Parliament and the devolve assemblies of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Ten political parties were represented in the House of Commons after the 2015 General Election, with a total of 85 MPs between them (accounting for 13% of the chamber). In fact, 2015 saw the best General Election performance ever for UKIP, the SNP and the Green Party. This fell to only 6 parties in the 2017 general election, but the unexpected hung parliament has seen one small party (the DUP) and has potentially empowered all other small parties in the chamber. In addition to this presence at Westminster, 19 parties have representation in the UK's sub national parliaments. Although the sub-national parliaments of the UK have more consensual practices, existing research still proceeds as though the 'opposition' is one parliamentary grouping. As such we still know little about the role of individual parties in these parliaments. But there has been an almost complete neglect of the role of individual small parties within these parliaments. This three year project aims to better understand the work of small political parties in the British House of Commons, the Northern Ireland Assembly, Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. It uses large scale interviews with MPs and assembly members and analysis of contributions to parliamentary debates during the coronavirus pandemic to investigate the role which small parties play in our political system. In doing so, in considers the challenges they face in parliamentary institutions and the impact they are able to make on scrutiny of government and of legislation. In doing so, it will highlight an area of parliamentary life which is usually hidden, uncovering best practice which will be shared with parliamentary officials, MPs and staff. We used a content analysis of contributions to House of Commons debates between 18 March 2019 and 17 March 2021. This two-year time frame enables us to compare contributions made by small parties during the pandemic with a conventional parliamentary year. Parliament’s online records of individual MP contributions were used to gather all speeches, interventions and oral questions by each small party MP across this two year period. We coded the type of contribution made (speech, intervention, question) and whether the MP was participating from the chamber or virtually. From April 2020, Hansard highlighted virtual contributions by MPs with a [V] following their name. This was sometimes inaccurate and so a random sample of contributions were further checked against the Parliament TV database , as well as any occasion in which an MP deviated from their typical parliamentary behaviour. This enabled us to correct some unintentional errors in the Official Report.