Publications
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Publication
Giving back: How to foster a stronger and more resilient charity sector
The UK’s charity sector has been resilient to recent shocks, but it is unclear how long this can last. This report suggests ways in which government can protect the sector’s long term viability, by instilling long term planning and sustainable financial models.
| Published: | 17 April 2023 |
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| Author: | Gideon Salutin |
Publication
Lagging behind: New insights into the barriers to energy efficiency uptake
Britain has the leakiest homes in England, and the case for improving energy efficiency is only getting stronger. It is unclear if government support provided thus far is enough to encourage people improve their homes' energy efficiency. In this briefing, we present much-needed evidence on different consumers’ perspectives on the need for these measures, and the barriers to uptake.
| Published: | 29 March 2023 |
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| Author(s): | Amy Norman, Niamh O Regan |
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Insurance and the poverty premium
People in poverty regularly face a poverty premium in the insurance market. Not only is that unfair, it also leads to worse outcomes for people, families and society – and it risks trust in the market mechanism. In this report, we conceptualise drivers of the poverty premium and call on the government, the insurance industry, and regulators to establish policies that can protect people in poverty from paying more for coverage.
| Published: | 13 March 2023 |
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| Author(s): | Matthew Oakley, James Kirkup |
Publication
Reducing the burden of government regulation
Government regulations can result in higher consumers prices, make businesses less competitive, and they can prevent innovation and reinforce barriers to entry. In this paper, Harvard Senior Fellow and Regulatory Policy Committee Chair Stephen Gibson, reviews previous efforts to reduce red tape.
| Published: | 09 March 2023 |
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| Author(s): | Stephen Gibson, Will Henshall, Tasila Banda |
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Fairer, warmer, cheaper: New energy bill support policies to support British households in an age of high prices
The current system of policies supporting households with high energy bills is inadequate for an era of high energy bills. In this final, report with Public First, we present a new policy framework that should be in place by spring 2024 – to ensure warmer homes, fairer use of public money, and overall cheaper bills. It is part of a wider project commissioned and supported by Citizens Advice.
| Published: | 08 March 2023 |
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| Author(s): | Amy Norman, Scott Corfe, James Kirkup, Daisy Powell-Chandler |
Publication
Learning from experience: How to make high quality work experience for all a reality
The past decade has brought a decline in the number of school students in England participating in work experience. Far too many have to rely on their parents’ connections to get worthwhile and beneficial experiences. Amidst growing calls for work experience to be accessible for all, in this report we provide a roadmap for rolling out high quality, universal work experience to students in England, in a way that is both equitable and does not compromise quality.
| Published: | 02 March 2023 |
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| Author(s): | Niamh O Regan, Aveek Bhattacharya |
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The Nanny and the Night Watchman: The Conservative case for regulating freedom in a failed market
In the Conservative political tradition, state regulation is often viewed in binary terms – its presence an intrusion, and its absence a mark of freedom. This has certainly been the case in the ongoing debate surrounding the review of the 2005 Gambling Act. In this personal essay, SMF Senior Fellow Dr James Noyes rejects the binary view in favour of a more nuanced approach to regulation and the role that the state can – and should – play in the gambling market.
| Published: | 28 February 2023 |
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| Author: | Dr James Noyes |
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Getting in the spirit? Alcohol and the Scottish economy
The Scottish economy’s global reputation for producing alcohol has come with historically high levels of drinking and harm. The Scottish Government is currently consulting on a range of regulations on alcohol marketing. Analysing the relationship between alcohol and the Scottish economy, we find that such regulation is unlikely to have much of an effect on the Scottish economy, since so much of Scottish alcohol production – most notably whisky – is sold abroad.
| Published: | 09 February 2023 |
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| Author: | Aveek Bhattacharya |
Publication
Squeezed out or opting out? Understanding ethnic differences in use of financial products and services
The ethnic minority gap in financial products such as pensions and insurance is well-documented, but poorly understood. Drawing on existing and new survey data, and in-depth interviews, this report seeks to understand the scale of this gap, and possible explanations behind it, as well as proposing recommendations to policymakers and the industry on how to reduce the risk of disadvantage faced by ethnic minorities.
| Published: | 06 February 2023 |
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| Author(s): | Niamh O Regan, Aveek Bhattacharya, Gideon Salutin, Scott Corfe |