Reports

Piping Up
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at unlocking the potential of independent water companies. New Appointments and Variations (NAVs) were introduced in 1991 as a way of increasing levels of competition in the water sector. They serve an important role in infrastructure development, connecting a fifth of new homes to...

Strategic planning for green prosperity
This report from UK think tank IPPR argues that the objective should be to deliver high-quality housing that meets the needs of local communities and has the buy-in of local people. Land is a finite resource, and the demands made of it have only increased over time. Not only do we need to house and...

Heritage and home
This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation Investigates ethnic inequalities in housing affordability. Britain, today, is a more plural country than ever before. The share of the population from a White British background in England and Wales stood at just under 75 per cent in 2021, down from over 87 per cent in...

The homes that children deserve: Housing policy to support families
This report from UK think tank IPPR recommends tackling child poverty by reforming welfare payments and building more social housing. As the government seeks to develop a new child poverty strategy, it will need to grapple with housing – the single largest cost faced by families. As the government seeks to develop a new child...

Home comforts
This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society sets out how the government can address poor-quality housing in the social and private rented sector. Our home is supposed to be a place of safety and security. But for nearly 1.5 million households who rent in England, this is not the case. More than 800,000...

Whose energy transition is it anyway?
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation examines the British public’s level of trust in the net zero transition and in heat pumps in particular. Given ambitious net zero targets, the UK cannot afford to face a stronger 'greenlash'. In this report, we seek to understand the British public’s level of trust...

Restoration and resilience
This report from UK think tank Localis examines the critical challenges facing local authorities in the South East and advocates for targeted strategies that align with the region’s unique needs. The South East of England, often perceived as a beacon of affluence and economic success, presents a paradoxical challenge to policymakers. Beneath its reputation as...

Restarting housebuilding I: Planning reform and the private sector
This report from UK think tank Centre for Cities investigates whether the current planning system has seen private housebuilding reach rates high enough to meet the new national target. Using newly available data on English housebuilding by local authority since 1946, digitised by Centre for Cities, this report investigates whether the current planning system has...

Bangladeshi, Black African and Pakistani households at higher risk of very deep, long-term poverty
This report from UK think tank the Joseph Rowntree Foundation explores the enhanced risk of persistent very deep poverty among Bangladeshi, Black African and Pakistani households. Bangladeshi, Black African and Pakistani families are up to 5 times more likely to be living in severe poverty for a long time compared to white families in the...

Popular planning
This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute proposes enhancing public engagement in the UK's planning system by adopting a model inspired by fantasy football. The Adam Smith Institute's report, "Popular Planning" by Paul Smith, proposes enhancing public engagement in the UK's planning system by adopting a model inspired by Fantasy Football. Currently,...

Mind, body and connection
This report from UK think tank Pro Bono Economics looks at low wellbeing in the UK in 2024. How is the UK doing? It is a question that is hard to answer. On the one hand, the UK remains one of the richest countries in the world and has enjoyed a prolonged period of peace...

Lonely Nation Part 3
This report from UK think tank the Centre for Social Justice looks at how to tackle loneliness through the built environment. This report shows how the government can tackle loneliness through the built environment, defined in this report as the man-made structures and features that viewed collectively, form the places in which people live. For...

Unsung Britain
This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation looks at the changing economic circumstances of the poorer half of Britain. This report marks the launch of Unsung Britain, a one-year research programme designed to understand the economic circumstances of today’s low-to-middle income families and how these have changed in recent decades, with support from...

Transforming asylum accommodation
This report from UK think tank IPPR calls for an end to the ineffective use of resources on unsuitable accommodation and proposes a reimagined approach to asylum housing. Asylum accommodation costs have soared in recent years, with billions of pounds being spent on housing people in inadequate conditions, which is both a waste of public...

Constructing consensus
This report from UK think tank New Local argues that the key to unlocking our fraught planning system is to give communities more power and influence to shape local development. Our country needs to build more. More houses are required to meet current and rising demand. High streets and town centres need regeneration. Our infrastructure...
Related Events
14 May 2025
Location: Surveyors House, 11-12 Great George Street, London SW1P 3AD
Think tank: Bright Blue
Raising the bar? How centre-right policies can improve living standards
This event hosted by UK think tank Bright Blue discuss what can be done to improve living standards in the UK. Join Bright Blue for our upcoming conference, Raising the bar? How centre-right policies can improve living standards. The conference will start with a keynote speech from Richard Fuller CBE MP, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the...
14 May 2025
Location: The Attlee and Reid Room, House of Lords, Westminster London SW1A 0PW
Think tank: Localis
New Stable
This report from UK think tank Localis will discuss the potential for LGPS investment to boost affordable housing provision. We are hosting the launch of Localis’s forthcoming report ‘New Stable’ which concerns the potential for LGPS investment to boost affordable housing provision, over afternoon tea and refreshments in the Palace of Westminster. ‘New Stable –...
15 May 2025
Location: Online / Demos, 6th Floor, 15 Whitehall, London SW1A 2DD
Think tank: Demos
The MIMBY majority: How do we engage the public to unlock housebuilding?
This event hosted by UK think tank Demos launches their new report 'The MIMBY Majority'. The UK has a housing crisis. This shackles growth, stifles productivity, and deepens inequalities. Tackling this in order to kickstart growth is one of the government’s flagship policies. In its effort to speed up the planning process, the government is...
21 May 2025
Location: Online / Institute for Government, 2 Carlton Gardens, London SW1Y 5AA
Think tank: Institute for Government
Effective urban leadership: what are the international lessons for England’s mayors?
This event hosted by UK think tank the Institute for Government will discuss what lessons England’s mayors can learn from other countries. As part of its devolution agenda, the government is deepening and extending the mayoral model across England. Fourteen regional mayors are now in office, holding powers over transport, skills, housing and planning, economic growth and more. The...
9 June 2025
Location: Online
Think tank: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Confronting the housing crisis: The bold steps needed to deliver affordable homes for all
This event hosted by UK think tank the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Prospect magazine will discuss ideas that could help shape a stronger, fairer housing system in the UK. Radical change is needed to redesign the UK’s housing system. That’s why it is encouraging to see the Labour Party make tackling the housing crisis a...
Related Articles
How can the Government help renters?
Ideas for improving the reality of renting for the increasing numbers doing so. The government needs to look at improving security, conditions and affordability By Darren Baxter (IPPR) Over recent decades the private rented sector has grown substantially, more than doubling in twenty years to house 20 per cent of all households. Over that period,...