‘The four techniques essential to delivering government strategy’

A debate is underway on how to make the central government machine more effective. Sadly much of that debate is ill-tempered, simplistic, or evidence-free. Instead, why not look to practical examples of past successes in ‘rewiring the state’? That is what myself and Alison Hadley have done for a new Institute for Government case study, looking at the success of the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy for England, launched by the last Labour government in 1999.

I was a civil servant under that government and saw first-hand how a new government can remake the state. In 1997, ministers realised that Whitehall had no capacity to drive prevention or joined-up working. This insight sparked many of Labour’s boldest moves, including the foundation of the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU), which I headed for its four first years, and which developed the original teenage pregnancy strategy.

The idea behind the SEU was simple. A small team of civil servants and secondees with frontline experience, we were to find ‘joined up solutions to joined-up problems’. The unit was asked to look at how policy and services were working for the most vulnerable and was encouraged to be frank about what needed to change.

READ MORE: ‘Britain can’t afford to delay welfare reform any longer’

Our analysis uncovered a catalogue of reasons why teenage pregnancy rates were so high. Background risk factors such as child poverty and school absence were shockingly high. Education about relationships and sex was often inadequate, and contraception hard to access. Services were fragmented and pregnant teenagers and young parents often missed out on desperately needed support.

The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy we produced set out a 10-year programme of prevention centred on high-quality relationships and sex education and accessible contraception. New programmes of support were introduced to prevent further disadvantage for young parents and their children. A strong national and local implementation network was set up and worked closely with programmes on early years, child poverty, school absence and those not in education, employment or training (NEETs).

Through patient work over the long-term, these efforts were rewarded in 2014 when the figures showed that under-18 conception rate had fallen by 50% compared with the 1998 level. Progress continued through the 2010s, then stalled.

Become a friend of LabourList and join our community. Our friends support our vital non-factional work and get access to exclusive content and events. 

Our case study sets out simple steps the government should take now to reinvigorate action on teenage pregnancy and support for young parents. But the report also highlights wider lessons from the success of the strategy which could help today’s cabinet and civil service in their challenge to deliver better outcomes.

The first lesson is the simplest: set clear goals. The approach of the Blair government in setting outcome targets was seen as risky. But teenage pregnancy is just one of many examples from that government where sustained and coherent action delivered ambitious targets. Setting clear goals and metrics does not guarantee success – but it signals ambition and sets a clear benchmark for monitoring progress.

The second lesson is that policy must be soundly based in evidence. The strategy worked because it used every means possible to understand the issues and analysed what help and support young people and their parents needed. By contrast, when governments misunderstand the problems they are tackling, or the lives of those they are trying to help, ineffective policies will follow.

Third, implementation capacity must be built into policy from the outset. The strategy worked because there was a detailed action plan covering every element, combined with the resource to make it happen. Tireless work ensured that services reached the young people who were most vulnerable. And central government was a good partner to local areas supporting them with good practice, research insights, and timely data on results.

Fourth, joining up is a force-multiplier. Our work benefitted from a joined-up approach to child and youth disadvantage at national and local level. This was not a scattering of uncoordinated small-scale projects but a national roll-out of well-designed policies that gave the frontline the tools to help young people get a good start in life.

Subscribe here to our daily newsletter roundup of Labour news, analysis and comment– and follow us on TikTok, Bluesky, WhatsApp, X and Facebook. You can also write to our editor to share your thoughts on our stories and share your own. The best letters are published every Sunday.

However much society and technology have changed in the last 25 years, these four principles should be a checklist for any government wrestling with complex challenges. They are not abstract theories, but techniques that have shown results in our own recent history. They are much more likely to improve service delivery than exhortation or recrimination. As the government draws breath for the next phase of its term of office, perhaps there is some food for thought here. 

• • SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour– contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected].
  • SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning.
  • BECOME A FRIEND: If you enjoyed this, why not consider becoming a Friend of LabourList? Help sustain our journalism, and of course Friends do get benefits…
  • PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or projects, email [email protected].
  • ADVERTISE: If your organisation would like to advertise or run sponsored pieces on LabourList‘s daily newsletter or website, contact our exclusive ad partners Total Politics at [email protected].