Podcast

What role can evidence play in improving policy decision and outcomes? How can it support better policy making and delivery?

PEP Talk explores policy, evidence and practice in Wales. Each episode we’ll address a challenge facing those of us who work across public policy in Wales, looking at the scale of the issue, and what the evidence says about how we should go about tackling it.

You can listen to each episode by clicking on the links below:

Episode 14 – Loneliness, Older People and Technology 

We discuss lessons drawn from the experience of the pandemic that could help this sector of society which is particularly affected by loneliness.

Read our report – Older adults and the pandemic: tackling loneliness through technology

Podcast host – WCPP’s Josh Coles-Riley

Guests – Lead author of the report – Professor Julie Barnett of Bath University along with John Gallander and Carol Barrett

Episode 1 – Youth Homelessness

This episode we look at the issue of youth homelessness. We ask how youth homelessness is defined, what the situation is here in Wales, what’s being done to tackle the issue, and what further steps need to be taken to eradicate it completely.

Read our report: Preventing Youth Homelessness

Guests:

Frances Beecher – Chief Executive Officer of Llamau

Jonathan Webb – Former Research Officer at the Wales Centre for Public Policy

Kaitlin Schwan – Senior Researcher at the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, based at York University

The episode also includes a pre-recorded interview with independent housing researcher, Tamsin Stirling, who we asked about how well local authorities across Wales are working to get to grips with youth homelessness in their communities

Episode 2 – Council Tax and Vulnerable Debtors

Episode 3 – Gender Equality

Episode 4 – The Value of Trade Unions in Wales

This episode we look at value of trade unions in Wales, and how they might respond to the challenges and opportunities of the current economic context.

Read our report: The Value of Trade Unions in Wales.

Guests: 

Nisreen Mansour – Policy Officer at the Wales TUC

Professor Alan Felstead – Research Professor at Cardiff University’s School of Social Science

Dr Craig Johnson – Research Associate at the Wales Centre for Public Policy 

Episode 5 – Tackling Loneliness and Social Isolation during Lockdown

In this special lockdown edition of PEP Talk, Dr Hannah Durrant talks to Julie Barnett (Professor of Health Psychology, University of Bath) about loneliness and social isolation during the Coronavirus lockdown, and the role of technology in alleviating those experiences.

Read our report: Loneliness in the Lockdown.

Episode 6 – Tackling loneliness in and out of lockdown: the role of good communication

In this remotely recorded edition of PEP Talk Laura Bennett speaks to Clare Delargy and Robin Hewings about loneliness during lockdown, and the importance of meaningful, clear, and effective communication; particularly from public services and Government sources.

Guests:

Clare Delargy – Principal Advisor at the UK Behavioural Insights Team

Robin Hewings – Director of Campaigns, Policy and Research at the Campaign to End Loneliness.

Episode 7 – Post-Brexit Migration and Wales

In this remotely recorded edition of PEP Talk Dr Craig Johnson speaks to Professor Jonathan Portes, Dr Sarah Kyambi, and Llyr ap Gareth about the likely impacts of post-Brexit migration policies, and they offer insight into the ways in which the Welsh Government could seek to respond to the challenges and maximise the opportunities that the new migration rules will present.

Read our report: Post-Brexit Migration and Wales

Guests:

Professor Jonathan Portes – Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the School of Politics & Economics, King’s College, London

Dr Sarah Kyambi –  Director of Migration Policy Scotland

Llyr ap Gareth – Senior Policy Advisor at the Federation for Small Businesses (FSB) Wales.

Episode 8 – Improving Race Equality in Wales 

In this remotely recorded edition of PEP Talk Manon Roberts talks to Professor Charlotte Williams and Professor Emmanuel Ogbonna about the nature and scale of racial inequality in Wales, with a focus on education and health and social care, and offer insight into the ways in which the Welsh Government could seek to respond, particularly with their forthcoming Race Equality Action Plan.

You can read our reports:  Improving Race Equality in Wales 

Guests:

Professor Charlotte Williams OBE – Honorary Professor at Bangor University and Chair of the ‘Communities, contributions and cynefin: BAME experiences and the new curriculum’ working group

Professor Emmanuel Ogbonna – Professor of Management and Organisation at Cardiff Business School and Chair of the First Minister’s BAME COVID-19 Socioeconomic Subgroup.

Episode 9 – Rural Wales Vision

In this remotely recorded edition of PEP Talk, Aimee Morse talks to Professor Michael Woods and Guto Davies about the Rural Wales Vision, a report commissioned by the Welsh Local Government Association Rural Forum to develop a strategic framework for future policy impacting on rural Wales and to identify policy asks for the Welsh and UK governments. The discussion focuses on the references to agriculture as the Rural Wales Vision aims to enhance and complement future agricultural policy by addressing a range of challenges, including through investing in the skills base and activities to add value to the range of primary products derived from farming activity.

Read our report: Collaboration and policy implementation at the local level in Wales – A case-study evaluation of a farmer group in North Wales

Guests:

Professor Michael Woods – Professor of Human Geography at Aberystwyth University and Co-director of the Centre for Welsh Politics and Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research.

Guto Davies – Member of the Sustainable Management Scheme funded Fferm Ifan Farmer Group and tenant farmer on the National Trust Ysbyty Ifan estate.

Episode 10 – Education recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic