Kate Ogden is the go-to person to unpick the complicated, contrasting and controversial proposals circulating around student loans. Essential reading from @theifs.bsky.social for anyone who wants to understand the - very different! - directions of travel being proposed. ifs.org.uk/publications...

The Conservatives have today said they would scrap the real interest rate charged on Plan 2 student loans saving graduates "tens of thousands of pounds". But *which* graduates would financially benefit?... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... 1/5

We're delighted to have @ckfarquharson.bsky.social giving the @cepeo-ucl.bsky.social seminar next week! She'll be talking about her work estimating the impact of Sure Start on education, health and more. 🕕3-4pm Thurs 5th Feb 📍Online or in-person (541, 20 Bedford Way) Sign up: tinyurl.com/yanfx8j7

Absolutely delighted our research has won the ONS' Research Excellence prize for impact! I always say to people that the ideal @theifs.bsky.social work is rigorous enough to publish in top journals, and relevant enough to be on the front page. I think we've ticked that box here!

The OBR has done us all a service by producing new forecasts of the challenge on SEND. What's still missing is the plan for how to tackle it - reform? changes to education spending? budget top-ups? Risks too to councils' finances - and their incentives. Big questions remain!

NEW: The hardest questions for SEND are still to be answered. @ckfarquharson.bsky.social, Kate Ogden, David Phillips, @lukesibieta.bsky.social and Darcey Snape’s briefing explains how the #Budget2025 will affect SEND spending and the options for councils' SEND-related deficits ⬇️

Continue to be astonished by how quickly my colleagues can turn these podcasts around… we only finished recording at 2pm! Listen in for our take on the Budget, and our attempt to string together coherent sentences on little sleep…

NEW PODCAST: The Autumn Budget 2025 explained @helenmiller.bsky.social, @benzaranko.bsky.social and @ckfarquharson.bsky.social break down the major decisions in a packed Autumn Budget and what they mean for the UK in our new IFS Zooms In episode. 🎧 Listen here: ifs.org.uk/articles/aut...

Good news: We now have a forecast for SEND spending, rather than flying blind. From 2028, central gov't will fund all SEND provision from within departmental spending. Without reform or spending top-ups, that's a £6bn pressure on budgets that year. @theifs.bsky.social #Budget2025

“This was a big Budget, but not in the way people were necessarily expecting.” – @helenmiller.bsky.social 📗 Our immediate IFS response to #Budget2025 is out now: ifs.org.uk/articles/aut...

...if we add up the cost of all the council worker hours wasted on failed applications for the "Treasury Happy Press Release Fund" type gimmicks, I suspect more often than not the net benefit to the country overall will be minimal or negative

If there were an election tomorrow, more net tax increases would have been announced in this parliament than in any other since at least 1970. #Budget2025

Your regular reminder that, while it doesn't have every policy option under the sun, @theifs.bsky.social Be the Chancellor tool will tell you how much could be raised from a whole raft of policy changes (e.g. cutting higher-rate threshold by £10k raises ~£17bn). ifs.org.uk/be-chancellor

Absolutely delighted that our @theifs.bsky.social work evaluating the effects of Sure Start centres won the "Publication of the Year" prize at last night's @smartthinking.bsky.social awards! It's wonderful to be recognised for the quality and impact of our work. ifs.org.uk/publications...

🎉 Proud to see our #Sure #Start @theifs.bsky.social research shortlisted for the ONS Research #Excellence Awards! 🏆 Learn more: www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/what... 🗳️ We need your help! Please cast your #vote in the People’s Choice Award by Friday 31 October 2025👉🏻 forms.office.com/pages/respon...

Delighted that our @theifs.bsky.social research on Sure Start has been shortlisted for the ONS Research Excellence Awards! Do check out our work (and the other amazing projects) and cast your vote in the People's Choice awards! tinyurl.com/3kra3trj

Today’s Times gives “urged” the entirely new meaning of “a lukewarm mention in the middle of a 66 page report”.

Phenomenal news - the birth cohorts are one of the UK's richest and most unique data resources. I can't wait to see all the amazing evidence that we'll gain from this newest study!

NEW PODCAST: Are the kids ok? Family life @helenmiller.bsky.social, @ckfarquharson.bsky.social and Anne Longfield explore family life in the UK, rising child poverty and pressures on social care in our 'Are the kids ok?' podcast mini-series. 🎧 Listen here: ifs.org.uk/articles/are...

"There's been a really big increase in the share of children who are being identified as having special educational needs" @ckfarquharson.bsky.social details the rise in special educational needs and its effect on schools. 🎧 Listen here: ifs.org.uk/articles/are...

We recorded this episode this morning (!) and I came out full of excitement! @helenmiller.bsky.social and I had a great conversation with Sir Philip Augar - we covered the design of the post-16 system, the gulf between higher and further education, and even some tentative signs of hope. Do listen!

"Only way that you are going to make a significant difference in the life of a child under the age of two, is by working with parents" @ckfarquharson.bsky.social argues effective early years policy must focus on working with parents and families. 🎧 Listen here: ifs.org.uk/articles/are...

NEW PODCAST: Are the kids ok? The school years Are England’s school children thriving, or are too many being left behind? @helenmiller.bsky.social, @ckfarquharson.bsky.social & @samfr.bsky.social assess the state of England's schools in our podcast. 🎧 Listen here: ifs.org.uk/articles/are...

Panoramic conversation on early years policy - what do we know & where should policy go. With the excellent @careyoppenheim.bsky.social @ckfarquharson.bsky.social & @helenmiller.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/00sX...

Bit weird that none of these articles mention that family hubs already exist and were set up by the last government. This an expansion and bolstering of them not a completely new thing.

In light of today's announcements on Family Hubs, this @theifs.bsky.social podcast is looking even more timely! A great discussion with @officialedballs.bsky.social and @pjtheeconomist.bsky.social on the benefits of Sure Start and the political economy of keeping early childhood programmes going.

“This new guidance will damage the quality of government and public discourse.” Important new comment from me and @alexgathomas.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

Spending on the new childcare entitlements next year could be £1bn higher than initially forecast in March 2023 - a 25% increase. So what's going on? I break down the numbers that @pjtheeconomist.bsky.social and @maxwarner.bsky.social set out in @theifs.bsky.social post-Spending Review briefing.

One weird thing about the efficiency drive announced yesterday is that we got (1) a detailed, bottom-up piece of work from the Office for Value for Money on the scope for savings in each department (2) top-down plans for all departments to make the precise same % cut to admin budgets

Super useful from @lukesibieta.bsky.social on school funding choices. Protecting the total core schools budget means real-terms spending per pupil will rise by around 3%. We don't know anything on colleges yet - reminder that real-terms per-pupil protection there needs an extra £300m in today's £.

The government has announced that, from next year, free school meals will be extended to all children whose families receive Universal Credit. Currently, families need an after-tax income below £7,400 to be eligible - removing the cap will bring 1.7m kids into eligibility in the long term.

IFS Associate Director @ckfarquharson.bsky.social gives evidence to @commonshealth.bsky.social tomorrow at 9:30am on the provision of early years services and our recent report on the impact of Sure Start centres. Find out more here: committees.parliament.uk/event/24353/...

What a fantastic choice for us @theifs.bsky.social! @helenmiller.bsky.social is an incredible colleague, a terrific economist and an extraordinary communicator - I can't imagine anyone better to lead this new chapter at IFS.

It is National Pizza Day, so this is your periodic reminder that Hawaiian Pizza was invented by a Greek-Canadian named Sam Panopoulos at his Satellite Restaurant in Chatham, Ontario in 1962. A True Canadian Hero 🫡

Schools Week have devised a quiz! Higher or Lower! Can you spot which statement in the Ofsted framework is for the higher grade?! schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-quiz-...

NEW: Childcare funding rates largely protected in real terms - with a big uplift for disadvantage premium @ckfarquharson.bsky.social and Elaine Drayton respond to yesterday's government announcement of a £2bn injection of funding into England’s early years system. ifs.org.uk/articles/chi...

Join us tomorrow for our Summer students IFS recruitment event Monday 2 December | 5-6pm | Online We will explain what a day as an IFS Summer Student looks like, what projects IFS researchers work on and what areas of research we cover. Register here:

One week left to apply to join IFS as a PhD Research Economist. We're looking for outstanding economists who have completed their PhD or students expecting to complete a PhD in 2025. Find out more and apply by 11:59pm Friday 22 November here: https://econjobmarket.org/positions/10964

🚨📜I am excited to share my Job Market Paper, where I study the effects of youth clubs on education and crime. The paper highlights the broader value of after-school activities and the potential benefits of public provision. 1/10

On the economics job market? Opportunities for PhDs to join as Research Economists in labour/crime, public finance, and education/nutrition/health at the IFS @theifs.bsky.social econjobmarket.org/positions/10... #EconSky

NEW: Is NHS hospital productivity starting to rebound? Over the last few years, @benzaranko.bsky.social and I have written and talked a lot about the NHS productivity problem. In a new @theifs.bsky.social comment (with new colleague Olly Harvey-Rich) we look at productivity over the last year. 1/12

My colleague @maxwarner.bsky.social is new to BlueSky- follow him for excellent research on the evolving state of the NHS!

NEW: The government’s decision to increase tuition fees in line with RPIX inflation forecasts from £9,250 to £9,535 from Autumn 2025 will prevent a £390 million cut to universities’ resources. THREAD on IFS Senior Research Economist Kate Ogden's response to yesterday's announcement: [1/6]

A £2.3-billion boost to the core schools budget in 2025-26 will see per-pupil spending in England rise by 1.6%, putting resources above their 2010 level for the first time. That follows a similar rise in per-pupil spending last year. [THREAD: 1/3]

On its face, this looks like a big Budget for childcare. But that £1.8 billion is just a recommitment to the plans Chancellor Hunt announced in March 2023. Where this Budget really will change things is childcare settings’ bills: they face a triple whammy on pay. (1/8)

NEW: English colleges are facing severe financial challenges, with budget cuts, demographic pressures and teachers paid far less than schools. THREAD on why the government faces a pivotal choice about the future of colleges at next week’s Budget: https://buff.ly/4fbZPM3 [1/8]

NEW: Access to Sure Start as a child reduced the likelihood of ending up in youth custody by a fifth. THREAD on our new report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, on Sure Start’s impact on crime and social care outcomes: [1/9] ifs.org.uk/publications...

NEW: Free childcare for the under-2s will mean big savings for some parents – but wider impacts are anyone’s guess With new childcare entitlements coming into effect this month, @ckfarquharson.bsky.social discusses what impact they will have on families. Read here: ifs.org.uk/articles/fre...

As @juliangravatt.bsky.social says, this @ifs.bsky.social podcast is very illuminating, not least because @ckfarquharson.bsky.social has thought a lot about the (my!) Further Education sector.

Enjoyed my first time hosting the IFS podcast - do have a listen for my colleagues' insights into the financial crunch facing universities and the options for a Labour government trying to deliver on its opportunity mission.