Government’s Industrial Strategy builds on Britain’s strengths, but risks ignoring what this must mean for left-behind places

The Government’s Industrial Strategy Green Paper has a welcome focus on leveraging Britain’s economic strengths – as an exporter of services, a European leader for defence, and a strong university-led research base – and identifies a sensible set of clusters and growth industries. But to focus on these, the strategy will need to pass over … Continued

Government right to put rising living standards at the heart of its agenda

The Government’s new targets of raising Real Household Disposable Income (RHDI) and GDP per person over the Parliament at both a national and regional level is a welcome move that should focus minds across Whitehall about the need to raise household living standards. However, with the national RHDI milestone having been hit in every parliament … Continued

Cost of Agricultural Relief in Inheritance Tax has doubled over the past five years to reach £700 million

Agricultural Relief for Inheritance Tax (IHT) is estimated to cost the Exchequer £700 million this year (2024-25), delivering savings of more than £300,000 each to the approximately 1,700 estates who claim it (based on the latest available data in 2021-22), and demonstrating why the Government is right to scale it back, the Resolution Foundation said … Continued

Get Britain Working White Paper full of good intentions – but ‘youth guarantee’ needs to be cast-iron

Today’s ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper should nudge Britain closer to the Government’s stretching 80 per cent employment target. But to really make a difference, the Government will need to properly resource its ‘youth guarantee’ and get benefit reforms right – a challenge that has been left for another day. The Foundation says setting Britain … Continued

Family cash is helping more people onto the housing ladder and into early retirement, but vital family care still carries an economic penalty

Increasing transfers between generations – from housing young adults to financial gifts and inheritances, and caring for children, adults and elderly relatives – are having a profound, but unequally felt, impact on people’s economic prospects, according to new research from the Resolution Foundation and CPC-Connecting Generations published today (Thursday). The Intergenerational Audit 2024 – part … Continued

Inflation data delivers triple dose of bad news

CPI inflation increased by 2.3 per cent in October – a bigger increase than either the Bank of England or markets expected – with increases in core and services inflation completing a triple dose of bad news for families and policy makers, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday). While a rise in inflation was always … Continued

Official labour market data has ‘lost’ almost a million workers, and is over-stating the scale of Britain’s economic inactivity challenge

ONS labour market statistics have misrepresented recent trends in the UK labour market – by under-estimating the growth in employment by 930,000 workers since 2019, and over-estimating the extent of economic inactivity, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Wednesday). As the new Government prepares to publish a White Paper that reaffirms its ambition … Continued

UK falls off the top of the G7 growth leaderboard

GDP growth slowed to 0.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2024, leaving the UK falling below the US in terms of growth across G7 economies, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday) in response to the latest ONS data. Following a recession in the second half of 2023, the UK economy bounced back in … Continued

Low-to-middle income families across Britain have got older and sicker over the past three decades, but they are still more likely to be in work

50 is the new 20 for the 13 million families that make up an older, modern-day low-to-middle income Britain, who are also more likely to suffer from poor health or a disability compared to three decades ago. But despite these headwinds, which have come to the fore since the pandemic, lower-income families are far more … Continued

Chancellor provides £326 billion boost to public services and investment, funded by the biggest tax rises on record and higher borrowing

The Chancellor has set out plans to boost real-terms spending on public services and investment (TDEL) by £326 billion (in current prices) across the next five years, funded in part by the biggest package of tax rises on record, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in its quickfire analysis of the Budget. In the first … Continued

New ONS data confirms £11.5 billion government overspending during first half of the year

Central government spending is already £11.5 billion above the OBR’s March forecast, six months into the fiscal year, highlighting the scale of the public finances challenge facing the Chancellor ahead of her first Budget next week, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday). The vast majority (£9.7 billion) of central government overspending in the current financial … Continued

Low carbon transport set to save households £22 billion in 2035 – but policy changes are needed to ensure that lower-income households get their fair share

Decarbonising Britain’s transport will be challenging as it accounts for over a third of all UK emissions. But doing so effectively could save households £22 billion (£650 per household on average, in current prices) in 2035, according to new analysis from the Resolution Foundation published today (Thursday). The report Getting the green light, funded by … Continued

Government doubles down on Britain’s strength as a services superpower in its new industrial strategy

The Government’s new industrial strategy – which identifies eight priority sectors for the UK – has doubled down on leveraging Britain’s strengths as a services superpower, and offers a huge opportunity to boost growth in major cities, the Resolution Foundation said today (Monday) in response to the Industrial Strategy Green Paper. The Green Paper identifies … Continued

New fiscal rules can help the Chancellor deliver a Budget for growth – but won’t solve tough decisions on tax and spend

The Chancellor should use her first Budget to rewrite the existing debt rule to enable higher public investment and boost growth. But this won’t solve wider tax and spend challenges, with £20 billion of tax rises needed to ‘end austerity’, according to the Resolution Foundation’s pre-Budget report. The report notes that the upcoming Budget is … Continued

Employment Rights Bill a major step forward in improving working life for low earners – but it is far from job done

The package of measures included in the Employment Rights Bill should deliver a marked improvement in working conditions for millions of low earners across Britain, who are most likely to benefit from stronger protection from unfair dismissal, improved access to sick pay, and greater security in working hours. But the job is far from done, … Continued

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