Matthew Oulton

This online event presented new analysis on the disability benefit system and options for reforming PIP.

The government could more closely link PIP awards to the level of assessed disability, targeting support towards those with most severe conditions. 

We discuss options for reforming personal independence payment, the main disability benefit for adults in England and Wales.

We highlight the key theoretical predictions about rent controls and summarise what empirical research reveals about their effects in practice. 

The Reform UK proposals represent a substantially different vision of what the benefit system should be doing.

Rather than being a principled reform to the taxation of pensions, this change creates another new arbitrary line in the tax system.

Who would be most affected by the government’s planned reform to the NICs treatment of salary sacrifice pensions and would it improve the tax system?

Council tax support's chequered history reveals the fundamental trade-offs of devolving benefits to local authorities.

Changes to universal credit this April will have a significant impact on the incomes of millions of people.

An examination of council tax support schemes across England, Scotland and Wales, and the case for reform

What is council tax support? Who receives it and how much does it affect household incomes?

This comment explores how young workers are matched to firms in local labour markets in England, using the Longitudinal Education Outcomes dataset

The Scottish Budget brings pre-election sweeteners and post-election cuts to many services 

Personal tax thresholds have been frozen since 2023 or earlier, meaning inflation erodes their real value. Extending freezes to 2029–30 raises £8bn.

In 2024-25 the state will spend over 10% of GDP on social security payments, which take money from taxpayers in general and give it to specific groups

Significant trade-offs are involved when designing transitional protections for benefit cuts. 

Important trade-offs are involved when designing transitional protections for benefit cuts. 

These changes more than halve the saving of the package of reforms, making the Chancellor’s already difficult Budget balancing act much harder.

Next week, parliament is set to vote on many of the benefit reforms proposed in the government’s March Green Paper. 

There's significant speculation that some of the proposed disability benefit changes will be scaled back: we discuss some of the government's options.