Press releases

Have increases in NHS waiting lists and waiting times contributed to the growing number of  people claiming working-age health-related benefits? 

New research calculates measures of average household consumption for every local authority in Great Britain.

We are pleased to announce the 7th World Bank/ODI Global/IFS Public Finance Conference, taking place in London, UK, on September 25-26, 2025. 

Private sector employees are increasingly accumulating retirement savings in ‘defined contribution’ (DC) pensions.

Our new report finds that a major recent revision by the ONS to official estimates of household wealth is fundamentally flawed. 

The government will more likely than not miss this NHS 18-week waiting time target. 

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is delighted to announce that Helen Miller has been appointed as its next Director.

The UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has renewed its support for the Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy (CPP).

Mental health has worsened since the pandemic. This is consistent with rising disability benefit claims for mental health. 

One key question is whether those forecasts put the Chancellor on track to miss her fiscal rules. This is by no means guaranteed.

The supplement contains a set of 27 papers and an editorial summary on five key themes of inequality, from 74 authors from wide range of disciplines.

The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) failed to achieve its ultimate aims of improving educational attainment and labour market outcomes.

After £1.5 billion of in-year top-ups in 2024-25, the plans for day-to-day health and social care spending in 2025-26 represent a real-terms freeze.

As a result, public sector workers in Scotland now enjoy a considerable pay premium relative to their counterparts in the rest of the UK.

By 2040, the number of pupils in Scotland is projected to be 90,000 lower than in 2024. Policymakers face a major choice over how to respond.

Without policy action, many will end up with their savings scattered across several small private pension pots by the time they reach retirement.

Broader reform alongside a council tax revaluation could improve the fairness and efficiency of the Scottish tax system.

New research presents the first consistent estimates of what has happened to Ministry of Justice funding over a period of more than 20 years. 

Despite the publication of a Tax Strategy alongside the Scottish Budget, it is not yet clear what the Scottish Government’s vision for tax policy is.

Energy support packages significantly alleviated household losses, but they were poorly targeted and encouraged overuse of energy.