Public services· Public finances The great escape Why Britain is stuck in a fiscal funk and how we can break free 16 July 2026 by Simon Pittaway and Cillian Sheehan and James Smith and Andy King This report is the first in a series on the size and shape of the state, and how the public finances can be better managed in an era of low growth and high uncertainty. It diagnoses how Britain fell into its seemingly endless fiscal funk and sets out a playbook for escaping it. With a … Continued READ MORE
Public services· Public finances· Growth· Tax See it. Say it. Sort it. How to reset Britain’s economic policy 14 May 2026 by Matthew Cavanagh and Alex Clegg and Ruth Curtice and James Smith This briefing note sets out how the Government should reset its economic strategy against a bleak backdrop of weak growth, falling living standards, and high borrowing costs. It provides clear direction – a ruthless prioritisation of growth and focus on living standards – while calling for honesty about the scale of Britain’s problems and setting out a bold agenda for change. READ MORE
Public services· Social security· Cities and regions The localisation era Assessing the post-2013 rise of localised social security 20 November 2025 by Alex Clegg This report is part of the project Safety Nets: social security for families in a devolved UK, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. It examines the growth of localised social security in the UK from 2013, focusing on how responsibilities for discretionary support and Council Tax Reduction (CTR) have shifted from the UK government to local … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public services· Public finances Mission impossible? Five things to look out for at next week’s pivotal Spending Review 4 June 2025 by Ruth Curtice and James Smith After a shaky start on the economy, Ministers have been happy to emphasise three trade agreements and some better-than-expected growth in recent weeks. They will hope the Spending Review (SR), on 11 June, can be a chance to build (build, build) on this, and to flesh out more concrete plans on the Government’s other ‘missions’. … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Public services· Social security Renew and improve Setting up the Household Support Fund for the future 22 May 2025 by Alex Clegg and Ruth Patrick and Jed Meers and Mike Brewer and Uisce Jordan and Millie Light and Rhiannon Simms and Hayley Bennett and Beth Watts-Cobbe and Joe Pardoe This briefing note, part of the Safety Nets project, assesses how the Household Support Fund could be improved in a longer-term settlement, through analysis of administrative data and interviews with local authorities and recipients of the scheme. READ MORE
Public services· Public finances· Investment Capital gains Public investment priorities for the 2025 Spending Review 29 April 2025 by Zachary Leather and Felicia Odamtten and Cara Pacitti and James Smith This report assesses the UK’s public investment challenges ahead of the 2025 Spending Review, highlighting legacy weaknesses in social infrastructure spending and setting out how targeted investment can boost growth and raise living standards. READ MORE
Incomes· Public services· Public finances 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 public services such as cutting defence to help fund growing health and welfare spending, and cuts to ‘unprotected’ public services after the financial crisis, have … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Public services Public pivot How a growing state will shape the living standards outlook for 2025 7 January 2025 by Alex Clegg and Adam Corlett and Louise Murphy and Simon Pittaway and Imogen Stone and Greg Thwaites 2025 will be a year with a bigger role for the state. Jeremy Hunt cut taxes in his last two Budgets and planned to pay for them with real-terms cuts to public spending in many areas. READ MORE
