Policy Archives - Public First

Public First joins Stonehaven Group to bolster international economics and policy expansion

Public First has agreed to join Stonehaven Global Holdings ltd (‘SHGH’) to help turbocharge its international reach.

From risk to resilience: The case for flood-resilient communities, economy and growth

From risk to resilience: The case for flood-resilient communities, economy and growth sets out new Public First economic and opinion research on the impact of flooding with immediate recommendations for policymakers.

How Young People Feel About Careers in News and Sport Media

New polling shows that 52% of young people are interested in a career in news and sport media

Private capital and the UK’s productivity gap

New analysis by Public First for BVCA shows how much bigger the UK's economy could be if all businesses matched the productivity growth of those backed by private capital.

Polling on Education Priorities in the Spending Review

New polling explores priorities ahead of the spending review

The trends that shaped the Paris AI Action Summit. And what comes next!

Behind the conclusions of the Paris AI Safety Summit were a number of trends that not only defined the outcome of the summit, but give us a preview of what the years ahead hold as Governments re-evaluate the global approach to AI Safety and governance.

Teachers need urgent support to tackle conspiracy theories in the classroom, landmark study finds.

Children in primary schools should be taught to recognise and resist online misinformation and conspiracy theories, according to a landmark study.   

Unlocking AI’s potential for Union workers

AI has the potential to transform workplaces across the UK, driving productivity and efficiency gains worth billions. But for many unionised workers, AI remains an unfamiliar tool—one they rarely use or see as relevant to their jobs.

The Clean Growth Commission

Making the Industrial Strategy work: ensuring that government's new Strategy is the engine of growth and investment for the UK.

Sustainability Sentiment Tracker 2024/5

Today Public First launches the latest Sustainability Sentiment Tracker with 5 lessons for businesses in 2025.

Game Changing: How sport makes us happier, healthier and better connected.

Public First conducted new polling into attitudes of UK adults on Sport and Sport Broadcasting in the UK.

When Reality and Perception Match (…or Don’t)

New polling from Public First shows that the public’s views on the quality of their local public services do reflect local realities, though it varies by the service.

Nothing Happens In Isolation

Commissioned by Mission 44, Public First conducted research into the challenge of increasing exclusions in state schools to understand the views of students, parents, and teachers alike.

Save the Children – Child Lock Campaign

New economic modelling and focus groups for Save the Children’s child poverty campaign

Primark’s impact on the UK economy and communities

Public First has worked with Primark to measure their impact in the UK, where they have over 190 stores across our towns and cities.

The case for inclusive planning

Public First has worked with Leeds Building Society to explore how the planning system could be reformed to better represent broader public opinion rather than vocal minorities.

Adding Value, Delivering Growth: the final report of the Public First/BVCA Investment Commission

Public First worked with BVCA to convene the Investment Commission, bringing together a range of experts - people who represent investors, portfolio companies, academics, think tanks and business groups - to help us to understand the most important barriers that face both those seeking to invest in the UK, and those seeking to attract investment.

What Would a Kamala Harris Presidency Mean for Tech Policy?

Understanding how a Harris presidency could shape the digital landscape requires looking at her career “in the context” of the Internet’s evolution, her rise in public office, and (most importantly) how her plans align with the electorate’s wishes.

Saving Generation Z: How 16 – 27 year olds save and spend

New Public First research for Yorkshire Building Society on how Generation Z save and spend.

Institution Overboard: New Public First report calls for £2.5bn government fund to stop universities going under

New Public First report calls for £2.5bn government fund to stop universities going under

Great British Energy: From pledge to reality

Great British Energy: From pledge to reality is a Public First report, commissioned by RenewableUK.

The Planning Premium: The Value of Well-made Places

Public First today publishes a new analysis of the potential economic impact of successful planning on the quality, desirability and volume of new housing developments.

Public First 2024 General Election Policy Tracker

The Public First team is tracking all policy announcements during the 2024 election campaign. We have picked out the key areas where parties will need to give the public answers, from how they'll manage the NHS workforce to how they propose to build more houses.

Unlocking the UK’s AI Potential: Harnessing AI for Economic Growth

Today, Public First publishes new research commissioned by Microsoft examining how the UK can harness AI to power economic growth. Using a combination of new economic modelling and an extensive survey of over 1,000 senior business decision makers in the UK we explored the opportunities created by digital technology for the UK, the supporting investments that will be needed to realise these opportunities and the current barriers to adoption.

Vision for Publishing: The role of publishing in the UK’s success

The Publisher’s Association commissioned Public First to better understand and evaluate the role of the publishing industry in the UK, its potential for further growth, and determine the policies needed to uphold and strengthen publishing’s social, personal, economic and innovative value to the UK. The report can be downloaded here.

Powering Creativity: How the UK’s broadcast and entertainment sector can lead the world

Sky commissioned Public First and Oxford Economics to determine Sky’s economic and cultural contributions to the UK and better understand how the British public’s viewing habits are changing. The report also identifies opportunities for growth in the broadcast and entertainment sector and sets out policy priorities to take advantage of these.

Immersive Technology in the UK’s Public Sector

Public First has worked with Meta and techUK to produce a new report on the immersive tech sector across the UK. The research reflects Public First’s independent findings from a series of industry workshops hosted in Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester, along with new public opinion polling and expert interviews.

Google’s Impact in the UK 2023

Public First has produced a new report quantifying the economic impact of a range of Google services in the UK, and exploring the economic and social potential offered by AI more broadly for the economy across the country.

How can we make fiscal decisions that work for the people?

The UK is stuck as a low-investment country. Both state and private investment have continually failed to reach the levels of other countries in the G7 or OECD. We need a more politically robust way to make fiscal interventions and start tackling the UK’s underinvestment.

Public First research into the university student experience – Student Futures 2

New research for the UPP Foundation Student Futures Commission highlights the affordability crisis for students and the impact on engagement.

Fuelling Fairness: Five years of the energy price cap

New report by Public First for Octopus Energy assesses the impact of the energy price cap on consumers and competition

Landmark report calls for urgent overhaul of the prison system

Community is calling for a root and stem overhaul of the prison system as part of a landmark new report on the state of the sector which has been produced by leading policy strategy and opinion research consultancy Public First.

Post-Covid tutoring boosts economy by over £4 billion

Pupils who achieved better grades after they received post-Covid tutoring will boost the UK’s economy by £4.34 billion.

Schools warn pupils are being let down by delays to accessing mental health services

School leaders from some of the most high-profile state and independent schools in the country have warned that vulnerable children are being let down because of delays in being able to access mental health services.

Parents and teachers want a more transparent, well rounded and less high stakes accountability system in schools

Parents and teachers want Ofsted inspections and the school accountability system to be more transparent, well-rounded, and less high-stakes, a major new report into public support for education reform has found.

New report on young people’s attitudes to jobs in the green economy for The Prince’s Trust

Young people’s lack of awareness of and interest in green jobs presents a serious risk to the UK meeting its ambitious Net Zero targets, which depend on training and retraining hundreds of thousands of workers.

New Report on Grid Decarbonisation: Hitting the Ground Running

In this report, we argue that preparing the network for decarbonisation by 2030 is not impossible – merely very difficult – and that it presents an ambitious goal for industry and the public to rally behind.

Public First and UK in a Changing Europe: ‘Bregret’ Report

Brexit refuses to go away, and over seven years since the referendum, the issue continues to generate headlines and spark furious debate. We spoke to the public to find out what they thought.

Public Attitudes to Tuition Fees

Public First published the findings of its landmark study into public attitudes to tuition fees.

Public First research finds parental support for fulltime schooling has collapsed

There has been a profound breakdown in parental attitudes to the idea of full-time school attendance in the years since the Coronavirus pandemic, a landmark study has found.

New Polling for the School Food Review Working Group

Public First conducted new polling for the School Food Review Working Group, researching public views towards free school meals and the potential expansion of free school meals by a future Labour government.

Hybrid Work Commission – New Research

Led by Public First, the Commission on Hybrid and Remote Work was set up to examine the rise in hybrid and remote working and make recommendations on how the UK Government can respond to the rise in hybrid and remote working to the advantage of people, communities, and the broader UK economy.

A review of collaborative support for improving equality of opportunity within access to higher education

Public First are undertaking a review of collaborative support for improving equality of opportunity within access to higher education across England on behalf of the Office for Students (OfS).

New report on securing a sustainable food system that delivers for farmers and consumers

Public First publishes a new report exploring public attitudes to food prices and food security, and explores policy solutions to ensure our food system is more resilient in the future.

The Future of Tutoring

Public First ran opinion research to understand parental opinions on tutoring, as part of wider research into the impact of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) and the 16-19 Tuition Fund.

Power to The People: New Polling for Onward

Public First's polled rural adults as part of work for Onward on the importance of tangible community benefits to encourage local level support for green infrastructure projects.

2023 BRODIE & Public First Sustainability Sentiment Tracker

The 2023 BRODIE | Public First Sustainability Sentiment Tracker is now live! As well as bringing you the third year of sentiment tracking amongst US and UK consumers, this year we explored the themes of nature and the cost-of-living crisis in greater depth.

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