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Understand this issue

Spending Review 2025: What it means and why it matters
We take a closer look at the Spending Review and what the policies mean for public services, investment and the wider economy.
12 June 2025

Sure Start’s wide-ranging and long-lasting benefits highlight the impact of integrated early years services
Over the long run, Sure Start’s financial benefits could be twice as high as its costs
22 May 2025

Drastic times need drastic action: breaking the 50-year tax taboo
Rachel Reeves should consider increasing the basic rate, just as Denis Healey did in 1975
14 April 2025
Policy analysis

Popularity of new childcare entitlements could leave spending much higher than initially forecast
New childcare entitlements have proven popular – meaning spending from 2026 onwards could be £1 billion higher than originally forecast.
12 June 2025

Spending Review 2025
Find our analysis, events and more surrounding the 2025 Spending Review here.
11 June 2025

What the spending review really means for schools
The next few years are going to be very tight for school budgets and forecasting anything more than a real-terms freeze is highly optimistic.
12 June 2025
Academic research

The short- and long-run effects of paying disadvantaged teenagers to go to school
This working paper studies the long-run effect of a cash transfer to disadvantaged students on educational attainment, earnings and crime.
26 February 2025

Future challenges for health and social care provision in the UK
We consider recent trends in health and social care productivity and the scope for future improvements.
6 June 2025

The future of public pension provision in the UK: challenges and trade-offs
The UK state pension system faces significant challenges given the country’s ageing population, but it is crucial for retirement finances.
6 June 2025