IFS Senior Research Economist Ben Zaranko writes for The Conversation on how the UK's lower defence spending has allowed successive governments to pay for a growing welfare state without a higher tax burden.
In September, the government announced that it was introducing a cap on the lifetime social care costs faced by individuals. At the event a joint IFS-Health Foundation report was presented that looks at the implications of this change.
The Levelling Up White Paper is just the latest of efforts to tackle regional inequalities. What does it tell us about this government’s approach? And how likely is it to succeed where others have failed?
This briefing note examines impacts for English councils using outturns data for 2020–21, compares these with expectations based on ex ante and rapidly available indicators, and considers the implications for both councils’ current financial resilience and how the financial impacts of future extreme adverse shocks should be monitored.
An initial analysis of the 2022-23 Local Government Finance Settlement finds slightly more funding than expected, and bigger increases for poorer areas.
