The Policy Fix

The UK has no shortage of AI strategies, summits and action plans. But a stack of policy papers doesn't retrain a civil servant, fix a legacy data system, or scale a pilot beyond a single department. The real challenge is execution.In this episode of Policy Fix, Nesta's podcast on the ideas and reforms that matter, host Joe Owen is joined by two people who know what it actually takes to get things done inside government: James Kuht, former member of the Prime Minister's Data Science Team at No.10 and now CEO of AI workforce company Pair, and Mallory Durran, who led the government's Incubator for AI and now heads Nesta's Applied Research and Methods team.Together they argue that the UK is at a genuine inflection point but risks squandering it by mistaking activity for progress. They explore what separates real transformation from efficiency theatre: the internal barriers of skills, culture and creaking infrastructure; the pressures of Big Tech dependency and procurement inertia; and the question of whether the public sector has the risk appetite to actually innovate.The UK does have real strategic advantages. This episode makes the case for what they are and how to build on them. But it ends with an honest question: are the reforms being discussed genuinely equal to the scale of the opportunity?You will come away with actionable insights on bridging the implementation gap, building national AI capability beyond running pilots, and understanding the concrete reforms needed to turn policy ambition into operational reality.What we cover:- Why AI success in government comes down to senior leadership clarity, not technology- The internal barriers blocking scale: skills, culture and legacy infrastructure- How to manage AI risk by investing in workforce experimentation- Whether the UK can compete with Big Tech or is inevitably dependent on it- The bold bets that could genuinely transform health and education outcomes- What departments need to switch off to make space for AI to deliverGuests:James Kuht, CEO, Pair | Former Prime Minister's Data Science Team, No.10 Downing StreetMallory Durran, Head of Applied Research and Methods, Nesta | Former Director, Government Incubator for AIChapters:00:00 "The magic can really start to happen"01:14 Introduction02:38 Where does AI sit on the hype spectrum?05:07 How big is the prize for public services?07:27 AI in action: planning data and the Extract tool11:51 The biggest barriers to AI adoption in government15:01 Why government needs tech-native leaders17:25 Real risk vs perceived risk in the public sector20:37 Experimentation as a risk management strategy23:31 What breaks when you try to scale an AI pilot?25:46 The funding problem: how government scales tech28:06 Can government compete for AI talent?32:11 Insource or outsource? Getting AI capability right34:01 What would prove the government is serious about AI?37:04 The unglamorous reforms that will actually matter39:22 Practical advice: where to start with AI tomorrow42:14 Outro

One in five children aged 3–5 already owns a smartphone and 95% of 13–15 year-olds have a social media profile. Is the UK's Online Safety Act failing to protect them and is a blanket ban on social media the answer?In this episode of Policy Fix, host Joe Owen sits down with Tony Curzon Price, economist and policy fellow at Nesta, and Hannah Perry, Director at Demos, to untangle one of the most urgent policy debates of our time: how do we regulate social media for children without doing more harm than good?They explore:Why the Online Safety Act has 'barely touched the sides' and what went wrongThe evidence base for social media harm, from Jonathan Haidt's correlations to natural experiments tracking Facebook's campus rolloutWhy Australia's age-based ban may push kids toward riskier, less regulated spacesThe case for product regulation - treating social media like a dangerous car that should be made safer, rather than trying to ban drivingTony's bold proposal: a BBC Club Kids social network, launched by 2028Hannah's vision for community-rooted digital spaces and epistemic sovereigntyWhat the government consultation should actually deliver, including bringing AI chatbots inside the scope of the Online Safety ActIf you work in policy, edtech, child welfare, or digital regulation or if you're a parent trying to make sense of a system that feels broken this episode is essential listening. Note that this episode was recorded before the recent judgement against Meta and YouTube in the US.Nesta is a politically impartial research and innovation charity designing, testing, and scaling solutions to society's biggest problems. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Episode Chapters00:00 What’s coming up: "A full-time job for parents": the social media treadmill01:09 Welcome to Policy Fix. Introducing Joe, Tony Curzon Price & Hannah Perry02:01 Setting the scene: is this a moral panic, or something genuinely different?03:43 The stats: 1 in 5 toddlers has a phone; 95% of teens on social media04:03 Evidence of harm. Child deaths, compulsive scrolling & displaced real-world activity05:01 The causality debate: what Jonathan Haidt's research actually shows06:30 The Facebook campus study — a natural experiment pointing to causality07:33 The willingness-to-pay study: users know they're trapped and want out08:25 How did we get here? The attention-harvesting business model explained10:13 The algorithm arms race. Sarah Wynn-Williams and the Facebook whistleblower revelations11:26 From Father Coughlin to Facebook: what radio history tells us about regulating media13:23 Why the Online Safety Act has barely touched the sides15:35 Why has this crisis bubbled back up the agenda now?17:43 Should we ban social media for children? Tony makes the case against19:05 The upside of social media why a blanket ban risks throwing the baby out with the bathwater21:16 Hannah on the ban: 50% of parents would evade it, and it breaks trust with kids23:34 Are "cuter" regulatory solutions also doomed to fail?23:50 Tony's alternative: a public service construction of a good platform26:44 Hannah's vision. BBC charter renewal, epistemic sovereignty & community digital spaces29:31 What should the BBC practically do in the upcoming charter renewal?32:26 The wider policy toolkit: no silver bullet, but an array of solutions34:45 Tony on family-level solutions, network monitoring without surveillance37:53 Australia's ban evaluation: is it reducing family conflict?38:22 The BBC's new role in media literacy and cultural norm shift39:05 What to watch for after the consultation closes39:27 Hannah's ask: include AI chatbots in the Online Safety Act40:08 Tony's ask: the BBC must become the platform, not feed it41:52 One thing for Keir Starmer. Tony on cyberspace experimentation42:49 Hannah's closing call: strengthen the Online Safety Act with safety-by-design43:14 Sign-off

The UK tax system has been described by experts as irrational, a mess and a nightmare. But what would genuinely reforming it look like - and why have successive chancellors ducked it for so long?In this first episode of The Policy Fix, Tim Leunig (chief economist, Nesta) and Helen Miller (director, Institute for Fiscal Studies) break down the biggest structural problems in Britain’s tax system: the distortions created by how we tax employment versus self-employment versus dividends; the £80bn cost of VAT exemptions and why a flapjack is legally different from a muesli bar; why stamp duty is almost universally agreed to be a bad tax - and why it still exists; and whether wealth taxes are a serious policy option or an idea that sounds better than it works.They also debate what a reforming Chancellor should actually do: go big and bold, or chip away incrementally? And they end with one policy each that they’d push through if they were Prime Minister for a day.Sharp, evidence-based and surprisingly entertaining - this is UK tax policy for people who want to understand the real arguments.The Policy Fix is produced by Nesta.Timecodes:00:00:00 Introduction00:01:40 What's wrong with the UK tax system?00:03:55 Why have chancellors avoided reform for so long?00:10:11 The biggest structural problem: income, NI & dividends00:13:12 The VAT chaos: flapjacks, gingerbread men & £80bn in exemptions00:16:00 How to actually reform: what should a Chancellor do first?00:22:49 Stamp duty & property tax: the case for abolition00:27:04 Wealth taxes: effective policy or zombie idea?00:31:44 Quick wins, capital gains & green/vehicle taxes00:35:10 Political bravery: are politicians or the system to blame?00:39:49 Expert commissions vs. the Chancellor acting now00:43:42 One policy to transform the UK economy