Reports

This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at the case for a proportional property tax. The UK’s current system of property taxation is unfair and outdated. Council tax is based on 30-year-old property valuations, varies widely around the country, and is capped at relatively low property values, meaning that a multi-million-pound property in the...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at what does Boris Johnson’s new cabinet mean for government. After months of rumours, Boris Johnson has reshuffled his cabinet to remove some of the most criticised ministers and elevate his allies. In public terms, it may prove underwhelming. He has indeed demoted or...

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Progressive Policy looks at prioritising social investment in education, health and local communities. CPP and NRG have produced a new research paper which makes detailed policy suggestions to deliver levelling up and create opportunities for all. The report calls on the Government to prioritise social investment...

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Policy Studies looks at a new type of housing to help key workers. Key workers, both in the public and private sector, were and are at the forefront of tackling Covid. This new report is calling for changes to help them get their foot on the...

This report from UK think tank the Joseph Rowntree Foundation looks at answers for a more equal, just housing system. During the coronavirus storm these structural inequalities played a part in worsening housing insecurity and health issues for BAME communities. They include deep inequalities in the labour markets, the social security system, and the effects...

This report from UK think tank the Education Policy Institute looks at 16-19 curriculum breadth and employment outcomes. This report finds that the proportion of students with A and AS levels or equivalent covering at least three of the main subject groups such as humanities, sciences, maths and languages, has now halved since 2010. England...

This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at how the risks are compounding, and without immediate action the impacts will be devastating. At COP26, the governments of highly emitting countries will have a critical opportunity to accelerate emissions reductions through ambitious revisions of their nationally determined contributions (NDCs). If emissions follow the trajectory...

This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at how to balance globalisation and sovereignty. The US, the EU and the UK hold a leading position in international trade and the global economy, and enjoy wide-reaching economic partnerships with Asia-Pacific nations. Governments in the US and Europe have a critically important role to play...

This report from UK think tank IIED looks at internally displaced persons who seek safety in towns and cities. A significant percentage of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who seek safety in towns and cities will not return home. Yet this is a reality that international actors consistently fail to adapt to and as a result,...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at process for public appointments. This report sets out 10 key questions that William Shawcross, Boris Johnson’s preferred candidate for the role of commissioner for public appointments, should be asked at the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) pre-appointment hearing. It says the...

This update from UK think tank Green Alliance looks at the gap between government spending and what is needed to achieve climate change targets. Green Alliance has been monitoring the gap between new UK government policy and spending and what is needed to achieve legal climate change targets. This is the fifth edition of the...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at how successful was the furlough scheme and what should happen next? The furlough scheme risks providing poor value for money and should end as planned at the end of September – even if it is still supporting many jobs. This report, based on...

This report from UK think tank Institute for Government looks at the effectiveness of government scrutiny by parliament.  The government must drop its dismissive approach to scrutiny as parliament returns to in-person sittings. Parliamentary Monitor 2021 finds that the efforts of MPs and peers to hold ministers to account during the 2019–21 parliamentary session were...

This report from UK think tank RUSI looks at how to improve collating, assessing and strengthening efforts in countering extremism. This Occasional Paper is part of RUSI’s Prevention Project, a multi-year effort to collate, assess and strengthen the existing knowledge base for preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) interventions across different thematic and geographic areas....

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Policy Studies provides a new analysis of NHS integration in the Manchester area. In Greater Manchester, where integration is most advanced, results have been generally poor. In particular, despite a £450m cash injection, there has been a 65% increase in delayed transfers of care - the...

This report from UK think tank IPPR makes the case for reforming 'no recourse to public funds'. Many people in the UK immigration system are subject to the 'no recourse to public funds' (NRPF) condition, which means that they are unable to access mainstream welfare benefits. This includes most benefits, tax credits and housing assistance...

This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at the unintended ill effects of well-intended measures. In recent decades, international and domestic counterterrorism measures have addressed ever broader forms of support to terrorist acts and groups designated as terrorist. When these measures apply in situations of armed conflict, there is a real risk that...

This report from UK think tank IIED looks at the integrated approaches needed to unlock the potential in supporting more sustainable and resilient livelihoods. Productive use(s) of energy (PUE), especially when powered by renewables, can support more sustainable and resilient livelihoods in Least Developed Countries, by bringing immediate opportunities to community services and value chains...

This report from UK think tank the IFS looks at trends over time and future outlook of school spending in England. Following large increases over the 2000s, school spending per pupil in England fell in real terms from about 2010 onwards. The present government sought to reverse this picture in 2019 by providing a three-year...

This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at why the UK is seeing a lopsided jobs recovery and what to do about it. The UK economy is on its way to recovery. But all is not well. Many jobs have still not returned. And without policy support its entrenched weaknesses, such as insecure work...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Development Studies looks at energy access in Mozambique, Nigeria and Pakistan. This paper draws together findings from research conducted in three countries, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Pakistan to ask how and under which conditions do struggles over energy access in fragile and conflict affected settings empower the...

This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at opportunities to target petty bribery in Nigerian schools. Underinvestment and corruption in Nigeria’s education sector have created a context where providers of education services are presented with routine opportunities to demand and expect bribes from parents and other service users for their children’s passing grades....

This report from UK think tank RUSI looks at the significant challenges facing UK Defence Support. Defence Support is facing significant challenges. These include making good some considerable legacy support issues, implementing lessons identified from the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, and tackling outcomes from the Integrated Review. If left unaddressed, these problems will...

This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute looks at how to embrace nuclear energy, a border-adjusted carbon tax, and clean free trade. The Adam Smith Institute’s latest paper, in conjunction with the British Conservation Alliance (BCA), and authored by BCA policy director Connor Tomlinson outlines a market centric approach to tackling environmental...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government assesses the public finance forecasts and what these might mean for the multi-year spending review. Numerous spending pressures on government mean Rishi Sunak will face a difficult balancing act this autumn. Remaining committed to the letter of “the perverse” state pensions triple-lock will increase pressure...