Join us for a fascinating conversation with Mariana Mazzucato, author of The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Myths. Mariana discuss the key themes and issues in her book, with responding comments from invited panellists.

The government is making significant progress towards its target of reducing net migration to the UK to less than 100,000 per year. Figures published on Thursday showed estimated net migration down to 153,000 in the year ending September 2012 (from 242,000 in the previous year). But this has come at a cost – in their haste to meet the target, ministers have changed the rules to keep out migrants who can bring huge benefits to the UK.

Governments at local and national level must think creatively about the role of the living wage as part of a more ambitious agenda to tackle low pay and weak wage growth in Britain.

Dalia Ben-Galim, IPPR's associate director for families and work, joined a panel of experts on Newsnight this week to discuss modern families and the changing attitudes towards marriage in British society. Copyright BBC News 2013

Keynes said that when circumstances change, he would change his view. The IMF has commendably adopted this approach in its assessment of the UK economy – so why doesn’t George Osborne show similar flexibility?

Our higher education system is a vital national asset: our universities provide us with a significant national economic advantage, as well as a vital public good.

With a dramatic fall in the number of international students, the government’s policy 'success' has come at a considerable economic cost.

The policy is opposed by both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems despite it being party policy of the latter.

The final component of the Beyond Irregularity project will be the establishment of ‘The Euro-Mediterranean Consortium for Irregular Migration Research and Advocacy’ (CIMRA). CIMRA is designed to be an independent consortium bringing together all interested actors working on research and advocacy for irregular migration in the Euro-Mediterranean region in order to move the European agenda on migration forward. We are looking to identify the best-placed organisation to host and coordinate the activities of CIMRA. The organisation will ideally be based in Morocco or Nigeria and have demonstrable expertise in developing research and advocacy on issues of irregular migration (including migration from countries in sub-Saharan Africa, through the Maghreb region and on to Europe). Please download the Call for proposals document for more information on CIMRA's aims and how to apply to be the host organisation.

In 2010 there was one public sector job in the North West for every 10 people there, the exact same ratio as in London. But last week Nick Clegg reported his delight that “we are making this transition from an over reliance in the North West on public sector employment“.

Yesterday on the pages of this blog, Stewart Lansley claimed that I had “hurled a hand grenade” into the poverty debate by urging Labour to rethink its approach to child poverty.

The enforcement culture that frames Home Office immigration policy has manifested itself in a defensive and largely negative approach to policy. Meanwhile public anxiety about immigration in the UK remains high. Positive, customer-focused services need to be introduced into policy making.

IPPR went to Manchester to talk about children and families as part of the Condition of Britain programme. Along with Jon Cruddas, we started the day with a visit to a fantastic SureStart family centre in Benchill, a district in southern Manchester and part of the Wythenshawe council estate. We then moved on to the Wythenshawe Forum, a successful community and leisure centre, where Jon made a speech about the pressures on modern childhood and the vital role of fathers. We chatted to staff, volunteers and service-users from Woodhouse Park Family Centre, a small charity offering services to local families. We finished the day with a meeting at Manchester town hall with council leaders, officers and school heads from across Greater Manchester. Benchill SureStart family centre The centre, run by Barnardo’s on behalf of Manchester City Council, focuses on engaging local families in a range of services, with a comprehensive outreach service and lots of support for parents as well as children. Along with other centres in Manchester, Benchill Sure Start is pioneering a baby registration service to reach out to new parents – both mothers and fathers – and start to build relationships between parents and staff. We chatted to a group of parents about the pressures of bringing up children in Wythenshawe and their hopes for the future. Some parents felt cut-off in Wythenshawe, which is some distance – physically and psychologically – from central Manchester. ‘I feel stuck here’, one mum said. Money worries were also a big issue, often driven by benefit changes and the lack of suitable local jobs, but parents really valued the support offered by the centre. ‘I don’t have family nearby so this place is like my family’ A speech by Jon Cruddas at the Wythenshawe Forum, followed by a panel discussion Jon talked about the issue of engaging dads in children’s lives. Local services are too often based around the child’s relationship with their mother, he said, with fathers sometimes feeling pushed out. Excluding fathers ‘lets them off the hook’, said Jon. We should have high expectations of fathers but also make sure they get the right support. Jon was joined on the panel by councillor Afzal Khan, executive member for children’s services at Manchester City Council, and Jonathan Rallings, assistant director of policy and research at Barnardo’s. Audience members raised concerns about the lack of support for grandparents as carers of children, as well as fathers. 'Grandparents are the glue that hold many families together' We also talked about the commercial pressures on young children and how to tackle gender stereotyping. Woodhouse Park Family Centre This is a small charity in Wythenshawe set up by a local church to provide services for local families. A central part of their work is running a child contact centre, a safe space where non-resident parents can spend time with their children. It means parents and children who don’t live together can experience a ‘normal’ relationship while cooking a meal or playing in the garden. Staff and volunteers were passionate about the local services they provided but  found it difficult to secure funding due their small size and lack of capacity to secure large contracts. They had also seen a large increase in families requesting food parcels over the last few years, and talked about desperate parents eating newspaper to stave off hunger while making sure their children had enough to eat. Meeting at Manchester town hall We ended the day with a meeting with local government officers, council leaders and school heads from across Greater Manchester to hear about local children’s services. Participants were keen to stress that Greater Manchester does not expect to get more cash from central government, but wants longer funding settlements and more integrated public budgets. Officers stressed the priority given to evidence-based tools in Greater Manchester, like the 'Incredible Years' programme that’s designed to improve young children’s behaviour by engaging parents and early years staff. School improvement was also a key topic, led by the Manchester Schools Alliance, which brings together local schools and practitioners to raise school performance locally rather than relying on national interventions. Manchester has seen major improvements in school performance over the last decade but concerns remain around both pre-school children and school leavers. Further investment is needed to boost school readiness through early years care and education, while Manchester’s academy schools are working with local employers to raise pupils’ soft skills and help more young people move into work in the local area.

IPPR went to Manchester as part of our Condition of Britain project (13 May 2013), along with head of Labour's policy review Jon Cruddas MP. After meeting staff and parents at a SureStart Centre in Benchill we visited a community centre in Wythenshawe, where Jon Cruddas spoke about families and children.