Comment

The government has set itself a target to have 75% of five-year-olds reaching a good level of development by 2028.

There is growing speculation about whether taxes will go up in the Autumn Budget and – if so – which ones.

The chancellor has to somehow reconcile tax and spending, but both her own Labour MPs and the Tory opposition are still living in a dream world 

The government’s original reform was set to save £5.5 billion in the short run (by 2029–30) and double that in the long run when fully rolled out.

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

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

The tax system pushes businesses and households away from electricity towards gas, making net zero more costly to achieve.

IFS researchers respond to Scottish fiscal announcements. 

A response to the government's announcement that it will commit to spending 5% of national income on national security in 2035.

Changes proposed in the fabled Green Book review could end up being highly consequential and tell us how the government is thinking — which worries me

Reform UK's tax plans aim to attract wealthy migrants but raise concerns over revenue impact, domicile rules, and administrative complexity.

The government has today published a long-awaited consultation on reform of the local government funding system in England. 

IFS Senior Research Economist Kate Ogden writes in Municipal Journal about what the 2025 Spending Review will mean for public services and councils.

The chancellor has pledged an extra £1.2 billion annually for FE by 2028-29. But will this be enough to reverse a decade of cuts?

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.

New childcare entitlements have proven popular – meaning spending from 2026 onwards could be £1 billion higher than originally forecast.

Which public services are the relative winners and losers from Rachel Reeves’ multi-year 2025 Spending Review?

The income threshold below which pensioners will be eligible for the winter fuel payment (WFP) is set to rise.

Rachel Reeves is to allocate between competing priorities with her spending review, and a 2.5 per cent rise for health could mean cuts elsewhere

Expanded access to free school meals will benefit 1.7 million children in the long run, but existing transitional protections limit effects next year.