Sir Julian Ernest Michael Le Grand, FBA FRSA (born 29 May 1945) is a British academic specialising in public policy. He is the Richard Titmuss Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics (LSE) and was a senior policy advisor to former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Le Grand is the author, co-author or editor of seventeen books and over ninety articles on economics, philosophy and public policy. One of his books, Motivation, Agency and Public Policy: Of Knights and Knaves, Pawns and Queens, was described by The Economist as "accessible – and profound" and by The Times as "one of the most important books on public policy in recent years". He was one of Prospect magazine's 100 top British public intellectuals, and one of the ESRC's ten Heroes of Dissemination.
He is one of the principal architects of the UK Government's current ‘quasi-market’ reforms introducing choice and competition into health care and education. In addition, he originated and developed several innovative ideas in social policy, including one that became the ‘baby bond’ or Child Trust Fund, the Partnership Scheme for funding long term care endorsed by the 2005 Wanless Report Securing Good Care for Older People, the Educational Premium for the less well off and for looked after children, and the Social Care Practice in the 2006 Department for Education and Skills Green Paper, Care Matters.
Le Grand was one of the signatories of a letter published in The Guardian on 15 April 2008, which criticised the UK Government's "retreat in the face of a rightwing challenge over inheritance tax". Le Grand and his co-authors argued that inheritance tax "is one of the few tools which directly reduces inherited inequalities."
In 2014 he was a member of the Commission on the Future of Health and Social Care in England for the King's Fund, chaired by Kate Barker which delivered its final report in September. He subsequently denounced the proposal of increasing NHS charges, which he described as a zombie idea.
Honours
In 2006 Le Grand was awarded an honorary doctorate (D.Litt.) by the University of Sussex.
In 2007 Le Grand was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
In 2012, Le Grand was elected Fellow of the British Academy (FBA).
In the 2015 New Year Honours, he was knighted 'for services to social science and public service'.
Works
He has written widely, including:
- The Economics of Social Problems, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008 http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=280559
- The Other Invisible Hand: Delivering Public Services Through Choice and Competition, Princeton University Press, 2007
- Motivation, Agency and Public Policy: Of Knights and Knaves, Pawns and Queens, Oxford University Press, 2003, pp. 208, ISBN 0-19-926699-9, OCLC 52193481 – argues in favor of increasing tax choice
- "Health, Values & Social Policy". In Ann Oakley & Jonathan Barker, Private Complaints & Public Health, Policy Press, 2004
- Quasi-Markets and Social Policy (Ed with Will Bartlett), Macmillan, 1993
- Market Socialism (Ed with Saul Estrin), Clarendon Press, 1989
Notes
- "Birthdays", The Guardian, p. 37, 29 May 2014
- "Economics focus: Power to the pawns". The Economist. 30 October 2003. Retrieved 7 February 2013. and Peter Riddell (19 February 2004). "Do you want to choose or shall I do it for you?". The Times. Retrieved 7 February 2013.(subscription required)
- Intellectuals: 'Top 100 British intellectuals' by | Prospect Magazine July 2004 issue 100
- untitled
- The Guardian, 15 April 2008, Letters: Speaking up for inheritance tax
- "The idea of charging for care may have been killed for good". Health Service Journal. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- "Julian Le Grand Website". Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- "LE GRAND, Professor Sir Julian". British Academy Fellows. British Academy. Archived from the original on 15 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
- "No. 61092". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2014. p. N2.
- 2015 New Year Honours List Archived 2015-01-02 at the Wayback Machine