Reports

This report from UK think tank Centre for Cities explores how transport integration could improve public transport and support economic growth.   Transport is the wiring that allows urban economies to function. But this wiring is faulty in big UK cities outside of London. This presents a problem for a national government wanting to deliver...

This report from UK think tank the Sutton Trust explores the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis on young people in the UK. The cost-of-living crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have had profound consequences on young people, with potential implications for their future life chances. To look at these consequences in-depth, this...

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation previews the key decisions for the upcoming Budget. The upcoming Budget – which the Chancellor has already signalled will come with spending cuts and tax rises – is a pivotal moment for a Government looking to improve the mood music around its economic-policy agenda. This is...

This report from think tank Labour Together looks at what issues are most important to the public. Knowing what issues are most important to the public is the bedrock of understanding voters. Ironically, its own importance can’t go understated. This report applies some overdue methodological experimentation to the question of what matters most to voters.

This report from UK think tank City-REDI outlines ways for supporting social value by building two-way relationships between universities and VCSEs. Universities can play a vital role in enhancing social value for the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector. This report outlines four main ways for supporting social value by building two-way relationships between...

This report from UK think tank Onward proposes the creation of a new sui generis (use of its own kind) residential building type for young professionals. This paper proposes the creation of a new sui generis (use of its own kind) residential building type for young professionals: Purpose Built Young Professional Accommodation (PBYPA). PBYPA will...

This report from UK think tank RUSI explores energy security challenges for the UK as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This paper examines the far-reaching consequences of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on global energy markets and its implications for UK energy security. ​ It highlights the vulnerabilities exposed by shifting energy flows,...

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation explores setting child poverty on a downward course at the Autumn Budget. The Government’s long-awaited Child Poverty Strategy is due next month, close to, or contemporaneous with, the Autumn Budget. There have been some welcome announcements already: the over-indexation of the Universal Credit (UC) standard allowance...

This report from UK think tank Localis centres on how local authorities can navigate investment risks and opportunities within a changing policy landscape. In her 29 January speech outlining the Government’s ‘Plan for Growth’, chancellor Rachel Reeves argued our cities will require focus on the two key areas of infrastructure and investment if they are...

This report from UK think tank HEPI suggests shorter courses, spreading the cost over time while encouraging lifelong updating of skills and knowledge. A new Debate Paper from the Higher Education Policy Institute by Professor Tim Blackman argues that full-time honours degrees were created when universities were small and elite institutions. They were rolled over...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies argues that tax matters for DPI reforms. Digital public infrastructure (DPI) – a set of interoperable digital systems and platforms that support service delivery, data exchange, and the functions of public and private sectors at scale – is expected to revolutionise public services and...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation highlights the rise of Adult Gaming Centres and the case for reform. Adult gaming centres (AGCs) offer easy, up to 24-hour access to gaming machines such as slots and bingo. These centres are proliferating across the country, concentrated in the most deprived areas, at a...

This report from UK think tank NCUB explores unlocking the UK’s business-led R&D potential. Britain’s business R&D engine is losing power. Between 2021 and 2023, private investment fell by 6.3% in real terms, which means around £3.4 billion less was spent on business-led research and development. It was the sharpest decline among major economies, while...

This report from UK think tank Chatham House discusses how open, scalable technology can serve citizens, preserve sovereignty and save money. The modernization of societies through digital technologies is a critical strategic priority that can improve public services and encourage private sector innovation. The term digital public infrastructure (DPI) refers both to the approach and...

This report from UK think tank Carnegie UK measures collective wellbeing across the UK. At Carnegie UK, we are delighted to present the third edition of our Life in the UK index, a landmark research programme we have now committed to delivering until at least 2030. This year’s findings offer a nuanced picture of collective...

This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society sets out how the chancellor can raise the revenue we need to invest in public services. The chancellor will have to make some difficult decisions ahead of the upcoming autumn budget. In particular, she faces a fiscal gap of over £20bn if she wants to stick...

This report from UK think tank City-REDI explores how the Liverpool City Region has sustained employment policy innovation. This policy briefing explores how the Liverpool City Region has sustained employment policy innovation across decades of national change. Drawing on programmes such as the City Strategy Pathfinder, Youth Employment Gateway, and Households into Work, it shows...

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation examines what the UK’s growing NEETs problem really looks like and how to fix it. Nearly one million young people aged 16-24 in the UK are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET) – the highest level in over a decade. While the Government’s new...

This report from UK think tank City-REDI examines the UK's rise in economic inactivity since 2020. This research & policy briefing outlines the main findings from a two-year project Levelling Up Labour Supply funded by the Economic & Social Research Council’s UK In a Changing Europe (Award Ref. ES/X005828/2). The main focus of the paper...

This report from UK think tank HEPI brings together leading voices from universities, industry and policy. A new collection of essays, AI and the Future of Universities (HEPI Report 193) edited by Dr Giles Carden and Josh Freeman, brings together leading voices from universities, industry and policy. The collection comes at a point when Artificial...

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform examines a reform agenda for the single market. For the last two decades, European economic growth has been lower than in peer countries. More than a year has passed since the landmark Draghi Report that helped establish a consensus that reform is needed. Yet...

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation examines how the government can help families with high energy bills. This briefing note looks into the drivers of Britain’s stubbornly high household energy bills and how reform of the costs added onto bills offers a route for helping families with the cost of living this...

This report from UK think tank Centre for Cities discusses how the UK's large cities have performed over the last 20 years. This briefing dives into the latest subregional productivity data to understand the trends over the past 20 years and what it can tell us about local and national economic performance. It shows that...

This report from UK think tank the Growth and Reform Network looks at how national policy can help realise the potential of devolution. Population health is currently a major policy concern in the UK. At an individual level, health is a fundamental precursor to economic participation, and poor health has consistently been recognised as a...

This report from UK think tank Civitas aims to help the Government develop a clear policy for both its industrial and trade strategies. In this report, Phil Radford questions why the UK’s approach to trade has such little focus on our fastest growing exports and why debate is not better informed on the sectors and...