Reports

We provide concrete recommendations to improve the UK pension system to secure better standards of living for future pensioners.

This report examines how the government’s recent proposed welfare reforms affect incomes, insurance, and incentives to work and claim benefits.

Youth mobility in England responds to – and in turn shapes – regional differences in economic opportunities.

The Crown Court case backlog has doubled since 2019 and continues to grow. We explore whether falling productivity is part of the reason why. 

This report explores options for incorporating administrative records on graduate earnings into the OfS’ regulation of higher education in England. 

This report sets out the context of and choices facing the government on schools and colleges in England ahead of the 2025 Spending Review.

An evaluation of Sure Start’s impacts on education, health, absences, special educational needs, crime and social care, plus a cost–benefit analysis.

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

How do people draw on their private pension wealth in retirement, how might this change in future, and what risks do they face?

What policies might help people manage their defined contribution pension wealth in later life? 

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?