Reports
The Alternative People survey 2026
This report from UK think tank Re:State discusses the findings from their new Alternative People survey. Re:State’s new Alternative People Survey, run with Civil Service World and Public First, asked 1,747 civil servants how Whitehall is really working. The new Government has moved quickly to reorganise the centre, but the Survey suggests that structural change...
Life in the UK 2026
This report from UK think tank Carnegie UK measures collective wellbeing across the UK in 2026. This is the latest edition of our annual Life in the UK index, now with four years’ worth of data trends, enabling us to take a slightly longer-term view of how people across the UK are living. Overall, this...
Performance Tracker 2026: Criminal justice system
This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government gives an overview of and makes recommendations for the criminal justice system. When the Starmer government took office in July 2024, it inherited a criminal justice system in England and Wales that was fundamentally unable to cope with the level of demand it faced. Nowhere...
Performance Tracker 2026: Schools
This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government states the government should set out a clear long-term vision for the structure of the school system. By the time Andy Burnham entered government earlier this year, an ambitious education agenda was already well under way. Over its two years in office, the Starmer government...
The scaling state: Rewiring Whitehall for the AI age
This report from UK think tank Re:State argues that the answer is not another digital strategy, but a fundamental change in how the State operates. In recent years, Government has published digital strategies like clockwork. It has invested in digital services, established standards for how they should be built, and set out ambitious plans for...
Up and atom: Unlocking SMRs and large nuclear
This report from UK think tank Onward argues that Britain faces a firm-power crunch. Up and Atom argues that Britain faces a firm-power crunch: firm generation capacity has fallen by about 24 GW over twenty years, four of the five remaining nuclear stations (the AGRs) are due to close by 2030, and much of the...
A new National Procurement Policy statement
This report from UK think tank Re:State proposes changing the rules for public procurement for the public sector with a new National Procurement Policy Statement. Every year the State spends nearly £400 billion buying goods, services and works from the private sector – 35 per cent of public sector budgets, and roughly one eighth of...
Care work in the UK
This report from UK think tank the Policy Institute explores public attitudes and misperceptions about care work in the UK. The public significantly underestimate the likelihood of becoming an unpaid carer at some point in their lives, guessing 38% of people in the UK ever will – far below the reality of 65%, according to...
No job for the centre – the case for devolving employment support
This report from UK think tank Re:State calls for the Government to scrap Jobcentre Plus and create a new model for employment support and benefits administration. Britain’s employment support system is failing the people who need it most. Its backbone – Jobcentre Plus – remains a highly centralised, one-size-fits-all institution, despite the importance of local...
Trust in scientists
This report from UK think tank the Policy Institute examines the role of values and moral and political identities in the UK. Trust in scientists in the UK is strong overall, with 63% indicating they have high trust in scientists in general – but a major new study finds this trust is closely shaped by...
A new civil service performance management policy
This report from UK think tank Re:State provides a series of ready to implement productsthat can be used to rewire Whitehall. Re:State’s A New Civil Service Performance Management Policy argues that Whitehall’s approach to managing performance is too weak at dealing with persistent underperformance. Drawing on departmental policies obtained through FOI requests and Re:State’s 2025...
Rethinking property-led regeneration
This report from UK think tank CLES challenges conventional property-led regeneration and sets out a new approach to urban development. This publication challenges conventional property-led regeneration and sets out a new approach to urban development that delivers greater social, economic and environmental value for local communities. Using a free downloadable viability tool, it presents a...
What’s past is prologue
This report from UK think tank Localis explores unlocking the value of heritage for local economies. Heritage connects the past, present and future of place. Historic buildings, landscapes, collections, skills, stories and traditions shape local identity while supporting employment, visitor economies, wellbeing and community life. Yet heritage remains too often confined to conservation or tourism...
The great escape
This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation explores why Britain is stuck in a fiscal funk and how we can break free. This report is the first in a series on the size and shape of the state, and how the public finances can be better managed in an era of low growth...
Learning lessons
This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society analyses the drivers of the teacher workforce crisis and the impact that it has on pupils and public finances. Teaching is a fantastic vocation, which offers the opportunity to change lives. However, the education system is currently experiencing a retention crisis, with the number of teachers...
Related Articles
What is important when thinking about digital government services?
Digital government services must be made truly accessible to reduce inequalities By Josh Abel (Fabian Society) The pandemic has brought the digital divide to the forefront of public policy debate. During lockdown, far too many children were unable to learn from home because they could not access the internet and millions of households faced social isolation because they were...