Public sector

Should utilities such as water, energy and transport come under public control? In deciding, the government needs to confront important trade-offs.

The report provides the latest picture on school funding and costs in England.

Why higher spending, without attention to how resources are used, may not translate into better outcomes.

While financial resources in the justice system are important, so are their management, location and interactions with other parts of the state.

We review the pressures and challenges facing the UK justice system in our mid-grant report for the Transforming Justice programme.

For the first time in over a decade, the NHS broadly stuck to its planned 2025-26 budget – but partly because hospital activity grew more slowly. 

A response by the IFS’s David Phillips and João Sousa so the Scottish Public Service Reform Committee’s pre-Budget inquiry.

We analyse trends in tribunal backlogs and the drivers behind them in the last 15 years.

How has entry into the public sector among graduates from top universities changed following the growth of finance, tech and consulting?

A new crop of councillors will face the same challenges – constrained funding, limited revenue-raising powers, and spending pressures and restrictions

Explore how and where the government spends money, and how this has changed over time, in all regions and nations of the UK

Welsh health and education systems are underperforming – with cuts to spending on some public services likely post-election.

Scottish public services are struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and cuts to some services loom.

Wales receives relatively more funding than it should according to available needs assessments – but these are nearly 20 years old and need updating.

After a period of growth, Scottish Government funding is set to flatline, forcing tough trade-offs on taxes, benefits and public service spending.

Our analysis of the 2026–27 Scottish Budget highlights a difficult outlook for both spending and investment in Scotland. 

Changes to English council funding over the next three years will help align funding with assessed needs – but challenges and issues remain.