Policy Leeds June signpost
Discover Leeds research in parliament, community-driven projects enhancing local life, and recent policy-facing awards.
New policy note: Improve School Attendance
Researchers from the School of Psychology and Leeds Institute of Data Analytics have produced a new policy note that investigates how targeted, early interventions could improve school attendance rates and ultimately address children’s declining health and wellbeing.
The note highlights that persistent school absence has nearly doubled from pre-pandemic levels to affect around one in four children. They recommend that this crisis can be tackled with better use of routinely collected data. Read the policy brief.
In an accompanying blog, Dr Megan Wood (Research Fellow, School of Psychology) shares the importance of the research and what it involved. Read ‘Tackling school absence using data: understanding the why and the how’
The team were scheduled to present this evidence at ‘Parliamentary Evidence Week’ in June. Due to the election being called for 4 July, the event (which hosts quick-fire research briefings for MP’s and peers) will now take place in the autumn. We will share more about this in due course.
Work on cuckooing results in an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill
Dr Laura Bainbridge (School of Law and founder of the ‘Cuckooing Research & Prevention Network’) and research partners have made significant progress towards having cuckooing recognised as a specific criminal offence. ‘Cuckooing’ is a form of criminal exploitation where people are conned, coerced, controlled, or intimidated into providing access to their home to criminals, who then use it to base their criminal activity.
Work and campaigning by network members led to the Government tabling amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill in May. Unfortunately, the Bill was not passed before the general election was called and the parliamentary session ended. In response, Laura and the network have produced a report that includes a series of recommendations to ensure their campaign to end cuckooing remains high on the next government’s agenda. The response report will be published soon on the ‘preventing ‘cuckoo’ victimisation’ webpage.
Co-designing a future without cars
An innovative multi-million-pound project has launched that encourages people in Leeds to design and try alternatives to private vehicle ownership.
‘INFUZE’ (Inspiring Futures for Zero Carbon Mobility) is asking communities across the city to help design bespoke mobility solutions, which could include car clubs, responsive taxi-style bus services, and shared bicycle and scooter schemes.
The project will involve up to 400 local households and is led by the Institute for Transport Studies along with research partners The Royal College of Art and Lancaster University. Hear about the INFUZE study from Dr Greg Marsden (project lead).
Events
Understanding & Preventing ‘Cuckooing’ in West Yorkshire
10 July, 1pm-4pm, Esther Simpson Building — Room 3.01
This interactive workshop is dedicated to exploring the exploitative and predatory practice of ‘cuckooing’. Register for the cuckooing workshop.
What service should police provide? Towards a minimum policing standard
20 June, 1pm-2pm, Online
This is first in a new series of webinars by the ESRC Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre. This seminar will present research on what the public expects from police, considering the current “trust and confidence” crisis. Discussion will cover the need for local problem response, neighbourhood presence, and fair treatment, whilst highlighting unmet minimum service standards. Register for the ‘What service should police provide?’ webinar.
News in brief
Child of the North launch two new reports that strive to improve children and young people’s quality of life
The fourth and fifth reports in the ‘Child of the North’ series, produced jointly by the Child of the North research group and Centre for Young Lives, were published in May.
- A new ‘Sure Start’ service will create better opportunities for children and young people
The fourth report presents an evidence-based plan for a new “Sure Start”, which sets out to tackle the 47% rise in spending on late intervention services. The research recommends tackling this crisis with a new national strategy, ring-fenced funding for school programmes and activities and connected public services that work collaboratively and holistically. Read ‘An evidence-based plan to build the foundations of a new “Sure Start” in and around education settings’ or watch the accompanying webinar.
- Educational settings can tackle children’s declining physical health
The fifth report presents an evidence-based plan to better support children’s physical activity and healthy nutrition through education settings. It argues that children aged 4–10 years are consuming almost double their recommended daily sugar limits, yet almost 4 million children are not physically active for the daily recommended time. The research recommends ‘whole school approaches’ to activity and nutrition, a diverse and health-centred curriculum, and the prioritisation of evidence-based practice. Read ‘An evidence-based plan for supporting physical activity and healthy nutrition with and through education settings’ or register for the upcoming report webinar.
A new guidance report sets out how Leeds parks and green spaces can be used to foster culturally inclusive feelings of “belonging”
Over the course of 2022–23, colleagues from the schools of civil engineering, psychology, geography, law and the sustainability service came together with policy and community partners to address questions about living within diverse communities. They focused specifically on how Leeds’ green spaces could be reimagined to promote belonging.
The project was created in response to Leeds City Council’s Culture Strategy for Leeds 2017–2030 and the Leeds Parks & Green Spaces Strategy 2022–32. It was funded by the Research England policy support fund (2022–23).
The research, their findings and project outputs were recently published on the Policy Leeds website. This includes a guidance report, an animation and more. Find out more about the ‘Integrating intercultural cities through belonging in green spaces’ project.
Rafe Clayton cited in Education Select Committee report on “Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing”.
Research by Rafe Clayton (School of Media and Communication) has informed a new Education Select Committee report. This comes in response to a Parliamentary inquiry on screen-time, in which Rafe submitted written and oral evidence in 2023 as the principal investigator. Read the Education Select Committee report or find out more about the screen time inquiry.
In 2021–2022, Rafe investigated ‘new uses of screens’ in a project funded by Research England. One of the outputs of this work was a policy brief on UK screen use in 2022. Read ‘UK screen use in 2022: a need for guidance’
Dr Carrie Bradshaw cited in Commons Library Research Briefing on food waste
Dr Carrie Bradshaw (School of Law) submitted written evidence to the Public Accounts Committee’s 2023 inquiry on The Government’s resources and waste reforms for England. This evidence has since been referenced in the House of Commons Library Research Briefing. Read the ‘Food Waste in the UK’ research briefing.
University of Leeds to host regional hub for climate education
A new education hub, based at the University of Leeds, will help students and young people to turn their climate and sustainability ambitions into action. The Climate Ambassadors Scheme, funded by the Department for Education, will provide nurseries, schools, colleges and universities across England with free access to local experts. The Yorkshire and Humber hub, led by Professor Amanda Maycock (School of Earth and Environment), is just one of many across the UK. Find out more about Leeds’ new climate education hub.
Awards and recognitions
- Professor Michelle Morris (School of Food Science) is named in The Grocer’s list of women shaping the future of national health policy. Michelle’s work with CDRC (Consumer Data and Research Centre) reveals the effectiveness of supermarket tactics and food health laws. Find out more about the Grocer’s accolade.
- Dr Anna Barker’s ‘Safer Parks for Women and Girls’ project guidance has been shortlisted for the Royal Town Planning Institute’s (RTPI) Yorkshire Awards for Planning Excellence 2024. Anna has been leading the ‘Wow Park’ project in follow up to pilot interventions on Woodhouse Moor. Learn more about Anna’s nomination.
Blogs, articles and papers
- Testing the waters: reducing health risks from water pollution. Professor Barbara Evans (School of Civil Engineering) contributes to a new report that discusses priorities for mitigating health risks from wastewater pollution. Read the report. This work was also the focus of a new BBC news article. Read ‘Top engineers urge action against human waste in rivers’
- How can we achieve health equity? Lessons from “My Health, My Right”. Drs Francis Poitier and Nichola Jones reflect on the Nuffield Centre’s World Health Day showcase. Read the health equity blog.
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of ex-post evaluations on the effectiveness of carbon pricing. New paper looks at the evidence for how well carbon pricing policy works. Read the paper on carbon pricing.
- Renewable energy systems return more net energy to society than fossil fuels. A news story reveals newly discovered, added benefits of renewable energy. Find out more about the return on renewable energy systems.
- Most crime has fallen by 90% in 30 years — so why does the public think it’s increased? Professors Toby Davies and Graham Ferell discuss public perceptions of crime rates. Read the Conversation article on public perceptions of crime.
- Political leadership on climate and 1.5 degree limit. Professor Richard Beardsworth (School of Politics and International Studies) discusses if this 1.5 limit remains a meaningful normative framework for climate action. Read the paper on political leadership on climate.
- A global plastic treaty will only work if it caps production, modelling shows. Dr Costas Velis (School of Civil Engineering) discusses how modelling has shown that a global plastic treaty will only work if it caps production. Read the Conversation article on global plastic treaty.
Find more information on policy collaborations from across University of Leeds on the Policy Leeds website. If you would like to keep in touch with our work between signposts, please connect with us on LinkedIn, find us on X (formerly Twitter), or you can email us at policyleeds@leeds.ac.uk
