Budgets & fiscal events· Public spending· Economy and public finances The trillion-pound question Spring Budget 2020 and the tension between higher spending, low taxes and fiscal credibility 24 February 2020 by Adam Corlett and Jack Leslie and Daniel Tomlinson This report focuses on the big choice that the Chancellor will have to make this year, across two Budgets and the Spending Review, over the balance between day-to-day (current) spending, taxation and additional borrowing. READ MORE
Public spending· Economy and public finances· Tax The shifting shape of UK tax Charting the changing size and shape of the UK tax system 13 November 2019 by Adam Corlett Ahead of the general election, this report looks at how and why levels of UK taxation have changed over time; how its make-up has shifted; the challenges facing the tax system, and what the parties may propose to do about it. READ MORE
Incomes· Living standards· Prices & consumption· Inequality & poverty· Welfare The benefit freeze has ended, but erosion of the social security safety net continues Expected benefit uprating in April 2020 16 October 2019 by Adam Corlett Major working-age benefits will rise in cash terms in April 2020, for the first time in five years. But while the benefit freeze has now ended, its effect of significantly weakening the social security safety net has not. READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Tax· Political parties and elections The huge Brexit Party tax cut for rich remain areas 16 September 2019 by Adam Corlett and Torsten Bell In this paper we examine the policy of abolishing inheritance tax, the new top priority announced by the Brexit Party. We find that the proposal would amount to an expensive giveaway to a tiny number of very wealthy households, largely living in the richest parts of the country and concentrated in remain voting constituencies. READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public spending· Economy and public finances Rounding up Putting the 2019 Spending Round into context 4 September 2019 by Daniel Tomlinson and Torsten Bell and Matthew Whittaker and Adam Corlett In his September 2019 Spending Round the Chancellor rightly declared he was “turning the page” on austerity and “writing a new chapter in our public services”. But he has also ripped up his own fiscal rulebook, almost certainly breaking the fiscal ‘mandate’ in the near-term and casting significant doubt over his ability to keep debt falling as a share of GDP over the coming years. READ MORE
Living standards The Living Standards Audit 2019 17 July 2019 by Adam Corlett and Stephen Clarke and Charlie McCurdy and Fahmida Rahman and Matthew Whittaker In the tenth edition of our annual Living Standards Audit, we examine both recent and longer-term trends in UK living standards. We consider how incomes have changed and for whom, and this year we dig deeper into what economic trends have driven those changes over the past 25 years. READ MORE
Living standards· Inequality & poverty· Scotland Wrong direction: can Scotland hit its child poverty targets? 22 March 2019 by Adam Corlett The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 created targets for the reduction of child poverty, in a welcome attempt to ensure that poverty reduction remained a policy priority. But agreeing to reduce poverty is easier than doing it. What are the prospects for the Scottish government hitting its goals? READ MORE
Living standards The Living Standards Outlook 2019 20 February 2019 by Adam Corlett Detailed data about household incomes comes with a considerable lag, and the UK’s main economic forecasts only tell us about averages. Our second dedicated Living Standards Outlook combines survey data, economic forecasts, the government’s tax and benefit policies, and more, to project household income growth for different groups. READ MORE
Living standards· Inequality & poverty The Living Standards Audit 2018 24 July 2018 by Adam Corlett and Stephen Clarke and Conor D’Arcy and John Wood Britain’s weak post-crisis living standards recovery went into reverse last year for the poorest 30 per cent of families. Our analysis shows how important cash benefits like tax credits have been for supporting ‘just about managing’ families and tackling child poverty since the millennium. READ MORE
Economy and public finances Healthy finances? Options for funding an NHS spending increase 12 June 2018 by George Bangham and Adam Corlett and Matthew Whittaker The National Health Service turned 70 on 5 July 2018, at a time when public concerns about its future were at their highest level in 20 years. This paper looks at different approaches the government could take to deliver real increases in NHS funding over the next Parliament. READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Tax· Intergenerational Centre Passing on: options for reforming inheritance taxation 2 May 2018 by Adam Corlett Inheritances are growing rapidly in importance at the same time as fiscal pressures mount. But the current inheritance tax system manages to raise relatively little while also being especially unpopular. This paper proposes a Lifetime Receipts Tax that would address Inheritance Tax’s problems while also raising more revenue and encouraging individuals to spread their wealth more widely. READ MORE
Housing· Tax· Intergenerational Centre Home affairs: options for reforming property taxation 20 March 2018 by Adam Corlett and Laura Gardiner This paper assesses options for reforming property taxation, with a focus on the existing council tax system which now bears far too much resemblance to the unpopular poll tax it was brought in to replace. It sets out a range of options for making property tax fairer, simpler and more economically efficient. READ MORE
Incomes· Living standards· Inequality & poverty The Living Standards Outlook 2018 22 February 2018 by Adam Corlett and George Bangham and David Finch This report projects forwards the real spending power of typical households and the distribution of income to 2022-23. Results incorporate household income data up to 2015-16, what we know about the key drivers of living standards to 2017-18 and the latest economics forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). READ MORE
Incomes· Living standards· Inequality & poverty Unequal results: improving and reconciling the UK’s household income statistics 3 December 2017 by Adam Corlett This briefing note explores different sources of data on household incomes and inequality in the UK. It sets out some of the improvements already planned, and what else needs to be done so that this data continues to inform debate and public policy. READ MORE
Housing· Intergenerational Centre Home Affront: housing across the generations 20 September 2017 by Adam Corlett and Lindsay Judge In this, our 9th report for the Intergenerational Commission, we take on the hugely important topic of housing. We compare the housing outcomes achieved by different generations over the life course and assess the extent to which intergenerational inequalities exist when it comes to security, to affordability and to quality. We explore how the housing … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Inequality & poverty· Social mobility Diverse outcomes: living standards by ethnicity 7 August 2017 by Adam Corlett This briefing note looks at how typical household incomes have differed by ethnicity, given that around one fifth of the population self-report their ethnicity as something other than White British. While not an attempt to offer comprehensive analysis, we also explore some of the causes, including differences in the labour market, pointing to the need for further work. READ MORE
Incomes· Living standards· Inequality & poverty The living standards audit 2017 15 July 2017 by Adam Corlett and Daniel Tomlinson and Stephen Clarke In this report we provide the first comprehensive look at the living standards of UK households in the year leading up to the 2017 general election, as well as a detailed look at the trends in living standards over the previous two decades. The years since the financial crisis have been far from an easy … Continued READ MORE
Tax· Political parties and elections A matter of tax: pre-election briefing on the main parties’ tax policies 16 May 2017 by Adam Corlett There is much that is unusual about the 2017 general election, from its surprise announcement to the dominance of a single issue – Brexit – on which the parties themselves remain split. Particularly remarkable is the extent to which the tax debate has so far focused more on options for tax rises rather than tax … Continued READ MORE
Public spending· Economy and public finances· Political parties and elections The deficit the election forgot? Pre-election briefing on the main parties’ fiscal positions 11 May 2017 by Adam Corlett and Matthew Whittaker While the deficit remains in place, it is heading back to the sort of level relative to the size of the economy that past generations have been comfortable with. With the process of fiscal consolidation dominating so much of the political discourse in recent years it’s unlikely that many voters will be lamenting a dialling … Continued READ MORE
Labour Market Outlook· Labour market· Pay The RF Earnings Outlook Q4 2016 15 March 2017 by Adam Corlett This Earnings Outlook looks at the final quarter of labour market data for 2016. Most importantly, inflation has risen rapidly in recent months, weighing heavily on real pay growth – though published pay statistics will take some time to fully reflect this. Indeed, our ‘Spotlight’ article notes that real pay in the public sector has … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public spending· Economy and public finances Are we nearly there yet? Spring Budget 2017 and the 15 year squeeze on family and public finances 9 March 2017 by Matthew Whittaker and Stephen Clarke and Adam Corlett and David Finch and Laura Gardiner and Kathleen Henehan and Daniel Tomlinson Resolution Foundation’s overnight briefing on the 2017 Spring Budget. READ MORE
Labour market A tough gig? The nature of self-employment in 21st Century Britain and policy implications 20 February 2017 by Daniel Tomlinson and Adam Corlett This Resolution Foundation analysis looks at the recent growth in self-employment. It focuses on: the sectoral make-up of the UK’s 5 million self-employed workers; the drivers of this growth since the recession; how the self-employed are treated differently in terms of tax and employment rights; and what policy challenges this raises. Key findings: Nearly 60 … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Incomes· Inequality & poverty· Intergenerational Centre As time goes by: shifting incomes and inequality between and within generations 13 February 2017 by Adam Corlett This is the Resolution Foundation’s fourth report for the Intergenerational Commission, which over the course of 2017 will examine issues of intergenerational fairness and make recommendations to strengthen the intergenerational social contract. This paper, building on previous work on the earnings of different generations, examines household income. Specifically, it looks both at changes in income … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Living standards· Inequality & poverty Living Standards 2017: the past, present and possible future of UK incomes 31 January 2017 by Adam Corlett and Stephen Clarke This is the Resolution Foundation’s eighth annual state of the nation report on UK living standards. It comes at a time when the recovery from the last downturn is still incomplete for some, yet the threat of a new squeeze on living standards looms large. The financial crisis hit households hard, yet in the last … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public spending· Economy and public finances Bending the rules: Autumn Statement response 24 November 2016 by Adam Corlett and David Finch and Laura Gardiner and Matthew Whittaker Our morning after briefing for Autumn Statement 2016. READ MORE
