Towards a 21st-Century Statecraft

The Need for a New Policy Planning Framework

The UK government’s policy machinery is grinding slowly, and increasingly, ineffectively. As Britain grapples with the twin demands of economic renewal and global competitiveness, a mounting body of evidence suggests that the country’s policymaking process is no longer fit for purpose. Industrial strategy is delayed, infrastructure investment is held back by regulatory bottlenecks, and regional development plans are mired in bureaucracy.

These are not isolated issues but symptoms of a systemic failure, a fragmented, top-down system of policy development that is no longer adequate for the complexity of today’s challenges. It is not just the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that needs reform. Britain needs a new National Policy Planning Framework - a holistic architecture to govern policy development itself.

Nor are these issues likely to be unique to the UK. Many of the drivers of change that are putting so much pressure on UK systems are present globally. The proposed solutions may therefore have relevance beyond the UK.