Civitas

The think tank Civitas is supposedly independent of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), but the presence of an advisory board of IEA stalwarts such as Sir Peter Walters, Lord Ralph Harris of High Cross (Bruges group with Norris McWhirter etc.), Patrick Barbour and Kenneth Minogue contradicts this supposition. Director (and ex-Labour councillor) David Green has been IEA since 1984. It focuses on race, health and welfare reform and promotes the political scientist Charles Murray's ideas on the 'underclass'.

In a March 2009 presentation Tim Montgomerie and Matthew Elliott described Civitas as part of the infrastructure of the conservative movement in Britain.

On Immigration

Civitas' work on immigration was criticised in 2004 by journalist Faisal Islam:

The Government's estimate of a £2.5 billion gain to the Exchequer from immigration came under fire last week from right-wing think tank Civitas. It managed to calculate a marginally negative figure, lapped up as proof of mass scrounging by Britain's immigrants.

But the figure was a result of subtracting the cost of running the immigration service from the taxes paid by immigrants. But is it right to count the cost of controlling immigration - essentially our political choice - against the workers' tax contribution? Plenty more arbitrary fiscal benefits, such as the fact that almost all immigrants come ready-schooled by their own state, could be added to counter the Civitas figures.

People

• David Green Executive Director
• Robert Whelan Deputy Director
• Stephen Pollard

Academic Advisory Council

• Norman Barry (Chairman) | Brenda Almond (University of Hull) | Barbara Ballis Lal (UCLA) | Peter Collison (University of Newcastle upon Tyne) | Tim Congdon | David Conway (Middlesex University) | Antony Flew | Thomas Griffin | R.M. Hartwell | Dennis O'Keeffe (University of Buckingham) | Robert Pinker (London School of Economics) | Duncan Reekie (University of Witwatersrand) | Peter Saunders | Jim Thornton (University of Nottingham) | James Tooley (University of Newcastle upon Tyne)

Trustees

• The Honourable Justin Shaw (Chairman)
• Sir Peter Walters (Deputy Chairman)
• Dr Philip Brown (Treasurer)
• Patrick Barbour
• The Hon. Mrs. Silvia Le Marchant
• Professor Kenneth Minogue
• Douglas Myers CBE
• Lord Vinson of Roddam Dene

Patrons and Founder Patrons

• Philip Brown | Lord Craigmyle | Alan T. Gibbs | Thomas Griffin | Douglas Myers CBE

contact

10 Storey's Gate, Westminster

Affiliations

• Centre for Social Cohesion – set up by Civitas

Health Unit

Civitas health unit was set up to 'facilitate informed and impartial debate among key stakeholders, patients, and the grassroots of the medical profession, in order to help build consensus on the future of health care in the UK.' Research aims include:

• bringing fresh thinking to problems facing the NHS through careful analysis and a consideration of what can be learnt from other health systems
• generating evidence-based ideas committed to 'high-quality, universal, safe and integrated health care', provided by clinicians whose first concern is patients.

James Gubb is the Director of the Health Unit at Civitas.

Healthcare Reform Civitas maintains that the quality of care is typically higher in Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTCs) than the NHS, and ISTCs cause NHS providers to drive performance in a way that would not happen without a competitive threat. The group quotes a survey commissioned by the NHS Partners Network claiming 74% of those polled said the NHS needed 'to change to survive'; and 74% more closely align themselves with the statement 'I don't mind who owns or runs my NHS services so long as the quality is right' than 'Services on the NHS should only be conducted in a hospital or other medical facilities run and owned by the government'.

In a press release headlined 'BMA to shut out independent sector from NHS is misguided', Civitas described itself as:

'...an independent social policy think-tank. It receives no state funding either directly or indirectly and has no links to any political party. Civitas's health policy research seeks to take an objective view of health care in Britain. It aims to offer an improved perspective on how best to deliver equitable and high standards of health care for all.'.

Resources

• Laura Brereton and Vilashiny Vasoodaven CIVITAS: Institute for the Study of Civil Society The impact of the NHS market February 2010.