Reports

A recent change in ONS methodology reduced measured household wealth by over £2 trillion. But is the new approach an improvement?

Simulation modelling of NHS elective waiting times in England shows that the government’s 18-week target is unlikely to be met in this parliament.

Is the working-age population less healthy since the pandemic? What role is changing health playing in rising health-related benefit claims?

This report studies the long-run effect of the Education Maintenance Allowance on educational attainment, earnings and crime.

This report analyses the Scottish Government’s Budget for 2025–26, with chapters on tax strategy, school spending, public sector pay and more.

Funding and spending growth are set to slow. Without a top-up, health spending will be flat in 2025–26 and tricky trade-offs elsewhere loom too.

How have public sector pay and employment changed in Scotland in recent years and what are the implications of those changes?

Scotland’s schools are relatively well funded. Falling pupil rolls and workforce planning represent both challenges and opportunities going forwards. 

What are the consequences of the proliferation of deferred small pension pots and what are the merits of different potential policy responses?

Council tax in Scotland – as in England – is out of date, regressive and distortionary. How should it be reformed, and what would the effects be?

The report undertakes a review of the VAT system in Ghana with a view to making recommendations for future policy action.

We present the first consistent estimates of what has happened to Ministry of Justice funding since the early 2000s and put these changes in context.

Scotland’s Tax Strategy is welcome but says little concrete about tax policy. And some actual tax policy is divorced from any sensible strategy. 

What are the drivers of ethnic gaps in private pension participation rates and what consequences will these gaps have for future retirement incomes?

We study young adults who live with parents, considering how the share living with parents varies across groups, and how this can relate to saving.

This annual report contains our latest estimates of spending per pupil and resource challenges across different stages of education in England.

This IFS Pensions Review report sets out issues with the current means-tested benefit system for those approaching the state pension age and beyond. 

Spending on special educational needs (SEND) is becoming unsustainable due to the rise in high needs. Reform to SEND funding and provision is needed.

A new, up-to-date system for allocating funding between councils is vital, and reforms must align with the broader vision for local government.

We set out how air pollution (PM2.5) has changed across England and explore inequalities by ethnicity, income deprivation, region and age.