Events How to spend £100 billion wisely Which areas of public investment should be prioritised at the Spending Review? UpcomingTuesday 29 April 2025 The UK’s record on public investment is poor by international standards – spending less than the OECD average for much of the past two decades. To her credit, the Chancellor… Continue Reading
Publications At your service? Why the 2025 Spending Review must reckon with the distribution of public service use 9 April 2025 by Camron Aref-Adib and Emily Fry and Zachary Leather Post-Covid, the British state is estimated to have reached a historic high of 45 per cent of the size of the economy. Past strategies to cope with increasing pressure on… Continue Reading
Events Making public services better for low-to-middle income families Wednesday 9 April 2025 Despite the cuts announced in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, spending on public services is set to be on average £43 billion higher over the years of the upcoming Spending Review,… Continue Reading
Comment They’ve only just begun… Government fires the starting gun on a Spending Review that must plot a path to prosperity 10 December 2024 by James Smith and Tom Clark Rachel Reeves certainly isn’t the first Chancellor to turn to financiers for line-by-line scrutiny of public expenditure, as she is reported to be doing, as she fires the starting gun… Continue Reading
Publications More, more, more Putting the Autumn Budget 2024 decisions on tax, spending and borrowing into context 31 October 2024 by Camron Aref-Adib and Mike Brewer and Molly Broome and Tom Clark and Alex Clegg and Nye Cominetti and Adam Corlett and Emily Fry and Sophie Hale and Lindsay Judge and Zachary Leather and Jonathan Marshall and Charlie McCurdy and Louise Murphy and Felicia Odamtten and Cara Pacitti and Simon Pittaway and Hannah Slaughter and James Smith and Greg Thwaites and Lalitha Try This has been the most anticipated Budget of modern times. It had to wrestle with profound – and sometimes conflicting – challenges: fixing the strained public services; repairing failing public… Continue Reading
Publications Under strain Investigating trends in working-age disability and incapacity benefits 20 June 2024 by Lindsay Judge and Louise Murphy The benefits bill is frequently the subject of intense political debate. But since the pandemic, working-age health-related benefits have moved centre-stage in these discussions, as policy makers aim to understand… Continue Reading
Publications Debt dramas Putting the public finances in context ahead of general election 2024 4 June 2024 by Charlie McCurdy and Cara Pacitti and James Smith The public finances have already emerged as a key issue in this election. So, in this briefing note, we step back and ask how we got to where we are… Continue Reading
Events State crafting Changes and challenges for managing the public finances Wednesday 5 June 2024 Tax and spend are at the heart of every general election – understandably as they represent the most significant choices made by most governments. The size and shape of the… Continue Reading
