On politics as a science, don't think anyone thinks the practise of
politics is a science - much more an art (black!). But the study of
politics could be scientific.
On the role of NICE to evaluate costs and benefits of policy as well
as clinical interventions, there is already a requirement across
government departments to provide what are called 'impact assessments' of
new (major) policy initiatives. For health, these are published on the
Department of Health website. Unfortunately they tend to be rushed pieces
of cost benefit work, often missing the crucial last step of presenting
costs and benefits in monetary terms. Oh yes, and they are put together by
civil servants within the Department and often clearly designed to support
what ministers have already decided they want to do anyway.
Organisations such as the King's Fund, the NHS Confederation and
others try to provide independent assessments of policy, but it would be
good if there were also a requirement to estimate, at a minimum, what new
policy/legislation is likely to cost - such as provided by the
Congressional Budget Office in the US. Maybe a role for the Office for
Budget Responsibility here?
At the moment, impact assessments do not seem to be taken too
seriously by departments and I suspect are seen more as an irritating
chore rather than an essential piece of policy evaluation.
Rapid Response:
Re:What are we waiting for?
On politics as a science, don't think anyone thinks the practise of
politics is a science - much more an art (black!). But the study of
politics could be scientific.
On the role of NICE to evaluate costs and benefits of policy as well
as clinical interventions, there is already a requirement across
government departments to provide what are called 'impact assessments' of
new (major) policy initiatives. For health, these are published on the
Department of Health website. Unfortunately they tend to be rushed pieces
of cost benefit work, often missing the crucial last step of presenting
costs and benefits in monetary terms. Oh yes, and they are put together by
civil servants within the Department and often clearly designed to support
what ministers have already decided they want to do anyway.
Organisations such as the King's Fund, the NHS Confederation and
others try to provide independent assessments of policy, but it would be
good if there were also a requirement to estimate, at a minimum, what new
policy/legislation is likely to cost - such as provided by the
Congressional Budget Office in the US. Maybe a role for the Office for
Budget Responsibility here?
At the moment, impact assessments do not seem to be taken too
seriously by departments and I suspect are seen more as an irritating
chore rather than an essential piece of policy evaluation.
Competing interests: No competing interests