Public services

The availability and quality of public services can make a significant impact on living standards, affecting our health, care, access to work and education, sense of community. Public services spending in Britain is broadly progressive, with the greatest ‘in-kind’ benefits going to low and middle income households.

But even as the size of the state has expanded in recent years, dissatisfaction is significant. Not all parts of the state have benefited equally. While health spending has risen, local authority spending has been particularly squeezed, and areas such as adult social care are facing rising demand.

We examine the distributional impact of public service spending in our research, and how public service provision can be improved to accomodate changing needs, all within the context made unavoidable by fiscal constraints.