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The Cross-Party Education Select Committee, Chaired by respected Conservative MP Graham Stuart, has joined the Include Design and Bacc for the Future campaigns in calling for ‘a red light’ on GCSE reform to avoid serious damage to the education of our children.

Today, the Government’s Youth and Community Engagement Champion, Shaun Bailey, will unveil three new digital services to help young people have a voice and overcome the vicious ‘no experience –no employment’ cycle, at an event at the Design Council.

Today, those behind the #includedesign campaign urge policy makers to revisit the EBacc proposal to include creative subjects and build upon the success of initiatives like Tech City

Responding to Nick Boles' announcements on new incentives to get more people involved in planning and the development of their area, John Mathers Chief Executive of the Design Council said:

"Development should bring direct benefits to the local community and the area in which it takes place. Neighbourhood Planning rightly puts local people centre stage to take more control of their area and change it for better."

The design industry announced today that it had sent an open letter to Michael Gove warning him that his intention to omit design related subjects from the English Baccalaureate would impact on Britain’s future prosperity.

The lab looks to bring together the power of design with cutting edge scientific research that Warwick Business School’s burgeoning Behavioural Science group is discovering. It will address issues ranging from binge drinking to the impact of the internet on teenagers to energy consumption, as well as boosting the nation’s flagging economy.

The Cabe team at the Design Council today announced the recipients of Design Your Neighbourhood programme grants. 11 communities from Plymouth to Newcastle have been selected to receive funding, aimed at helping them achieve good design as they develop and transform their neighbourhoods.

The Cabe team at the Design Council today announced the recipients of Design Your Neighbourhood programme grants. 11 communities from Plymouth to Newcastle have been selected to receive funding, aimed at helping them achieve good design as they develop and transform their neighbourhoods.

The Cabe team at the Design Council will announce the launch of London Design Review this evening at the Good Design = Good Planning event being held at the Stirling Prize nominated Angel Building. London Design Review will play a crucial strategic role, working in collaboration with partners to help London boroughs fulfil the policy recommendation of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to use Design Review to ensure high standards of design

The Design Council has appointed John Mathers as its Chief Executive. John joins the Design Council from his role as Chief Executive of the Holmes & Marchant Group, one of the world’s iconic design brands.

The Design Council has today announced the appointment of two key roles in its Cabe team. David Waterhouse has been appointed as the new Head of Programme Development and Alan Thompson has been promoted to take the role of Head of Design Review.

The AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) and the Design Council today published a scoping study on the current state of research on the value and impact of design. The study is the first stage in a major collaboration between the two organisations to address the challenges being faced by the design research community which, while playing a key role in economic and social value creation, faces challenges in terms of measurement of the value of design, evidence-gathering and business and policy partnerships.

The Cabe team at Design Council and the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) have announced that they will be joining forces to scale up the free Local Plan Panel Review service for local authorities. Cabe has provided the services to 123 local authorities over the past five years, and the partnership with the Planning Advisory Service will mean that the number of sessions offered annually will increase. The new service will represent a more complete offer to local authorities who are looking to get up to date plans in place quickly, and create well designed and successful places while adapting to the new planning system.

Commenting today on the Government’s publication of research on the value of design to the UK economy, the Design Council welcomed the findings which demonstrate the crucial role that design plays in UK’s exports. The research quantifies the value added by the internationally recognised UK design industry, but also shows that activity is highly export facing. The Design Council argued that the value of design could be increased further if UK businesses followed the lead of those in other advanced economies who are benefiting from the expertise of the UK design industry.

The Cabe team at the Design Council has today launched a new programme to help communities bring the transformative power of design to their doorsteps. Design Your Neighbourhood is aimed directly at communities groups who need financial and profession support to improve the design of their local areas. The fund is aimed at helping communities improve the design of new housing, town centres, villages, streets and parks, and to promote good design in proposed developments.