The NatCen Blog

Here we’ll be talking about our research in the context of the latest news, opinion and
analysis through comments from our team of experts. We’d love to hear from you, so post comments or get in touch with us.

To keep up-to-date with our latest blog posts and reports, subscribe to our monthly newsletter. 

• Posted on 21 December 2011

  10 things we learned from NatCen Social Research in 2011 (and one more for Christmas)

  Our Director of Research, William O'Connor shares the 10 most important things we have learnt from our research in 2011:

  Read the rest of this entry

  Tags: British Gambling Prevalence Survey, British Social Attitudes, Evaluation of Every Child a Reader, family interventions, Growing up in Scotland, Health Survey for England, London riots, The Reality of Generation Rent, Scottish Social Attitudes, Survey of Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England, Troubled Families Unit, Understanding Society

• Posted on 16 December 2011

  The High Street, Localism and Community Voices; challenges raised by the Portas Review

  The Portas Review, released this week, set out a vision for strengthening, supporting and developing British high streets. A crucial element of this review focused on the need to give communities greater say in how their high streets are developed, their look and feel and sorts of services they offer. This has clear resonance to the localism agenda but raises important questions about how to balance (potentially conflicting) viewpoints from different community sectors – in short, how do you decide which sectors’ voice is most important?

  Read the rest of this entry

  Tags: British Gambling Prevalence Survey, gambling, health and lifestyle

• Posted on 30 November 2011

  Gambling – lessons from a public health perspective?

  October saw the start of oral testimony to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Inquiry into Gambling and the impact of the Gambling Act, 2005. Industry members, treatment providers, researchers, regulators and faith groups will all be putting forward their views to the Committee, and at the session on the 22nd November, Heather Wardle attended to provide an expert research perspective.

  Read the rest of this entry

  Tags: British Gambling Prevalence Survey, Gambling Act, society, gambling