Reports

Latest Reports

Beyond caring: a new funding model for later-life social care

This report from UK think tank Re-State calls for a new Later Life Care Fund to replace England's failing model for funding for older people's social care. New research from Re:State sets out the case for a fundamental overhaul of how later-life social care is funded in England, arguing that the current model is unfair,...

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Educational psychologists in England

This report from UK think tank the Education Policy Institute provides the first comprehensive national assessment of the EP workforce since the Covid-19 pandemic. 'Educational psychologists in England' provides the first comprehensive national assessment of the EP workforce since the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing on eight years of administrative data and case studies from six local...

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AI in local government: Adoption, benefits and challenges

This report from UK think tank City-REDI examines how artificial intelligence is being adopted in local government. This report from the Local Policy Innovation Partnership provides a timely stocktake of how artificial intelligence is being adopted in local government, what benefits are beginning to emerge, and what barriers still limit wider deployment. It draws on...

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Understanding the Plan 2 loan repayment system

This report from UK think tank HEPI offers an alternative model for student loans, which would be cost-neutral for the Treasury. New research by London Economics has found that following various changes to student loan terms, implemented since early 2022, the Treasury are making a surplus of £679 million for the 2022/23 cohort of undergraduate student entrants in England. The research also found that the Government’s changes have had a greater adverse impact...

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A growth mindset?

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs examines public understanding of British economic performance and attitudes to pro-growth policies. Most Britons (87%) want the UK to focus more on economic growth, and would back free market reforms to deliver it, including: reducing energy costs (77%), cutting taxes on workers (72%) and...

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Stuck on you: How to make social media good again

This report from UK think tank IPPR explores how to make social media good again. How social media has changed over the last 20 years to make us more isolated from each other online, and what needs to change. Social media inarguably poses threats to democracy: disinformation and misinformation, polarisation, echo chambers, bots and rage-inducing...

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Byte the Budget?

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation investigates the state of digital transformation in universities across the UK. British universities are often seen as leaders in research – but are our universities equipped to maintain this status in an increasingly digital age? This report investigates the state of digital transformation in institutions...

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Bye bye baby

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation assesses Britain’s falling birth rate since the early 2010s. This briefing explores Britain’s recent baby bust and whether it should be a cause for concern for policymakers. Most developed countries are grappling with a falling birth rate, and the UK is no different. There have always...

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Turning energy support into investment leverage

This report from UK think tank IPPR reveals that UK business investment is the second lowest in the G7. High energy costs are squeezing UK industry, but support must do more than keep firms afloat. British manufacturing workers have access to 47 per cent fewer machines, tools and technologies than workers in similar economies Our...

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Where’s the demos in democracy?

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies demonstrates that democracy delivers development better than other regimes. Democracy is in crisis. Anti-democratic politicians and anti-rights movements are becoming more popular. Simultaneously, growing inequality around the world – a product of neoliberal capitalist societies – has left millions of people feeling left behind...

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Pressing reset

This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society explores what a new relationship with Europe might look like. A decade ago, the British electorate narrowly voted to leave the EU. It was a decision of generational significance, predicated, in large part, on a picture of splendid isolation that has turned out to be false:...

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Hayek’s law legislation and liberty: A guide

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs makes one of the twentieth century’s most important works of political philosophy available to a wider audience. F. A. Hayek (1899–1992) was one of the most important social thinkers of the last hundred years. Law, Legislation and Liberty (1973–79) is one of his most...

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Swiss role model? What the UK can learn from how Switzerland rebuilt public trust in its asylum system

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at the Swiss asylum reforms and key takeaways for the UK. The UK is suffering a downward spiral, with collapsing public confidence in the government’s ability to deliver an effective asylum system. This report investigates reforms to the Swiss asylum system designed to address...

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Scaling opportunities

This report from UK think tank HEPI calls for sustained and intensive outreach to tackle persistent higher education access gaps. New HEPI Policy Note calls for sustained and intensive outreach to tackle persistent higher education access gaps. It argues that sustained and intensive outreach programmes are among the most effective tools to widen access to...

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Russian sabotage of NATO infrastructure: Identifying alliance vulnerabilities

This report from UK think tank RUSI looks at the lessons to be drawn from sabotage attacks attributed to Russia against civilian infrastructure and logistics in European NATO countries. This paper provides a critical analysis of Russia's escalating sabotage operations targeting NATO civilian infrastructure and logistics in Europe since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.​ It...

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Harm, hardship, and the price of inaction

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation examines the costs of Scotland’s drug crisis. Scotland has a drug problem. The issue is likely to be a key one in the upcoming Scottish elections. Questions of the costs of potential interventions, and how worthwhile they are, will be central to decisions made on...

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Skills for the future: Demand for and supply of high-skilled labour across England

This report from UK think tank City-REDI finds that high-level skills mismatches differ significantly by area and that policy responses should reflect local differences in demand. This study maps employer demand for higher-level qualifications (at Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) Level 4 and above), the supply of residents with these qualifications, and the resulting demand-supply gaps...

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Selective inclusion

This report from UK think tank the Sutton Trust examines the interplay of SEND and disadvantage in school admissions. There is widespread acceptance that the SEND (Special Education Needs and Disability) system is in crisis but fierce debate surrounding ways forward. Greater demand is being placed on a system that is complex, notoriously difficult to...

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The long shadow

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation explores how childhood disadvantage depresses the earnings of university graduates in England. This briefing note examines how being in deep poverty in childhood – proxied by eligibility to free school meals at age 16 – continues to shape graduates’ earnings long after university. Using the Longitudinal...

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Vital institutions 01: Reform and renewal of the Equality and Human Rights Commission

This report from UK think tank the Future Governance Forum calls for the reform of the EHRC to strengthen equality and human rights protection for people living in the UK.  Our recommendations for how the Commission can restore its credibility include: being politically neutral, leading public debates in sensitive areas and making greater use of...

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Public cyber attribution in the Global South: Indo-Pacific

This report from UK think tank RUSI underscores the importance of understanding the Global South’s perspectives on cyber attribution to help navigate the complexities of a multipolar world. Global South approaches to public cyber attribution are more cautious than Western approaches, due to factors including cultural background, foreign policy goals and perceptions of western double...

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England united: Pride not prejudice

This report from UK think tank British Future offers a toolkit for those who want to speak up for an inclusive England. The ‘England United; Pride not prejudice’ toolkit aims to help mainstream voices confidently champion an open, shared sense of Englishness. It stems from a recognition that the far right is trying to co-opt English identity...

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Essays about the future: Scotland

This report from UK think tank Carnegie UK considers what kind of a country we want Scotland to be two decades from now. Moments of democratic choice provide an important opportunity to pause, look beyond immediate pressures, and reflect on the kind of future we want to build. Ahead of this year’s election, Carnegie UK...

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Adopt, innovate, transform

This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society explores how civil servants can help deliver a smarter state with AI. As artificial intelligence plays an increasingly prominent role in our lives, the government is rightly using its potential to rewire the state. The long-term efficacy and sustainability of our public services will rely on...

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Green deals in the EU

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs Since the 2008 financial crisis, environmental policy has shifted away from simply managing negative externalities and gradually converged with regular industrial policy. Various ‘green deals’ have been launched around the world with the aim of achieving a combination of economic and environmental development. Economists,...

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