This blog summarises the latest policy news including reports, inquiries, consultations, government research and events.
Reports from Academics and Think Tanks
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Centralising council tax would make Burnham’s job more difficult |
Proposals for replacing council tax are common and it should be reformed, but it shouldn’t be centralised. |
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Checking out: The varying performance of high streets across the country |
This report identifies four key reasons why high street vacancy rates vary so much from city to city and how to improve their fortunes. |
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This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation explores the housing outlook in Q3 of 2026. |
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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 and high uncertainty. It diagnoses how Britain fell into its seemingly endless fiscal funk and sets out a playbook for escaping it. |
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| Rebecca Riley argues that fiscal devolution works when it is designed as ‘capability devolution’ and fails when it is merely risk transfer. | ||
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The benefits and costs of international higher education students to the UK economy |
This report from UK think tank HEPI explores the benefits and costs of international higher education students to the UK economy. | |
| This report from think tank the Fabian Society explores how robust accountability can unlock devolution’s promise. | ||
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This report examines why, after more than four decades of national policy, the UK remains one of the most interregionally unequal countries in the industrialised world. |
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Re:State’s 2024 paper Making the grade: prioritising performance in Whitehall described a “missing middle”, where the civil service found it particularly difficult to attract exceptionally talented ‘mid-career’ applicants to work in Whitehall. |