Latest Publications

The UK’s private rental sector has grown since the 1990s, but long term renting is still not an attractive option for many due to high costs and limited renters’ rights. In this report, the third in our ongoing series, we present lessons for the UK from across the English-speaking world.

Countries across the English-speaking world are wracked by a housing crisis that is pushing the matter firmly up politicians’ agendas. This introductory paper – the first of a series of SMF reports on addressing the problem of housing – provides an overview of the scale of the crisis in homeownership, private renting, social housing and homelessness across the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

The cost of living crisis has left many households struggling to afford essential goods and services. This report explores the case for social tariffs – discounts offered to certain vulnerable customers – the goods they are best suited to and how they should be designed to deliver for all.

As the cost of living crisis intensifies, there are growing concerns that the market is unable to provide affordable access to essential goods and services. This interim report investigates the depths of the affordability crisis and the case for social tariffs – discounts on products sold in free markets granted to disadvantaged consumers – as a means of helping those most in need during the current crisis, and beyond.

The UK’s social housing stock is in need of regeneration, as many homes do not meet the Government’s Decent Homes Standard and fall short of its energy efficiency target of an EPC C rating. This report models the benefits of investment in social housing regeneration, for the wellbeing of inhabitants, the environment and for local economies.

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.

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.

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.

This briefing presents a long-term solution for keeping consumer energy companies afloat through the current crisis while limiting the financial burden on taxpayers, drawing upon the structure of the Brady Plan which helped to successfully resolve the 1980s sovereign debt crisis.