Latest Publications
We publish research reports and briefing papers under the following five main categories. Click a category below or use the search box to find what you are looking for.
Publication
How should regulators balance competition, economic growth and other political priorities?
Some business leaders fear competition policy and regulation are jeopardising the government’s economic growth mission. Former CMA Strategy Director and Downing Street Special Adviser Stuart Hudson explores whether there is a trade-off and, if so, how the tensions can be resolved.
| Published: | 16 December 2024 |
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| Author: | Stuart Hudson |
Publication
Network failure: How the UK can meet its 5G ambitions
A “new deal for 5G” is needed to tackle the causes of the 5G infrastructure investment gap, and catapult the UK to the global frontier for 5G connectivity. This report sets out the complex challenges driving the investment gap in 5G and presents a package of complementary measures which, if implemented together, can deliver the high-quality 5G network the UK needs in order to reap extensive economic and social benefits.
| Published: | 11 December 2024 |
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| Author(s): | Richard Hyde, John Asthana Gibson |
Publication
Laying the foundations: How to support SMEs to take on apprentices in skilled trades
This report explores the key enablers and barriers for SMEs in taking on more young apprentices in skilled trade roles, including green jobs. It presents new panel data on the attitudes of trades firms, incorporating insights from interviews with skilled trade workers. Additionally, it discusses policy solutions to support these businesses in effectively increasing their apprentice intake.
| Published: | 05 December 2024 |
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| Author(s): | Niamh O Regan, Jake Shepherd |
Publication
Care and Learning in Higher Education: How society and universities can support care experienced and estranged students to succeed
There is growing recognition that society’s obligations to care experienced and estranged young people involves getting more of them successfully through higher education. However, the promise of support often doesn't match reality. This report explores the gaps in support for care experienced and estranged students, and suggests actionable ways to ensure that support is more consistently available.
| Published: | 02 December 2024 |
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| Author(s): | Aveek Bhattacharya, Dani Payne |
Publication
In the blink of an AI: Clearing the backlog in UK public services
Artificial intelligence and automation are ideally suited to do many of the tasks that public servants in user-facing roles currently spend hours managing. This report outlines the benefits the civil service and public sector can reap by further integrating AI and automation, as well as the time savings available to the public which use them.
| Published: | 27 November 2024 |
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| Author(s): | Sam Robinson, Gideon Salutin |
Publication
From backwater to battleground: The political importance of joined-up immigration and skills policy in the UK
To address seeming ‘overreliance’ on international labour, the Labour government’s big idea is more joined-up policy on immigration and skills. This briefing sets out why this approach is unlikely to deliver lower levels of immigration, but how it can still be a political success by showcasing immigration as not only supplementing, but supporting, local skills.
| Published: | 25 November 2024 |
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| Author: | Jonathan Thomas |
Publication
Carefully, compassionately: Canadian lessons on assisted dying
Objectors to assisted dying policy often cite Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) programme to exemplify the danger of doing so, including concerns about due process and eligibility. The following briefing is designed to evaluate where Canada has gone wrong, why it should not deter policymakers in Britain, and how we learn from Canadian mistakes to ensure assisted dying can be safe.
| Published: | 11 November 2024 |
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| Author: | Gideon Salutin |
Publication
A capital idea? A change of approach to helping small firms to increase their investment
SMEs will have a key role in closing the UK’s investment gap with other economies. However, to ensure that SMEs can make such a contribution a more strategic policy approach towards SME investment is needed – one that goes beyond the focus on corporation tax rate and more generous capital allowances.
| Published: | 23 October 2024 |
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| Author: | Richard Hyde |
Publication
Taking responsibility: How the government can improve enforcement of farmed animal welfare laws
Most Britons eat meat, but consumers increasingly care about where it comes from. In this report, we set out to understand how farmed animal welfare standards are enforced, and how that enforcement can best be improved.
| Published: | 21 October 2024 |
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| Author(s): | Aveek Bhattacharya, John Asthana Gibson |