Latest Publications

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.

Mutuality has a rich history, but it remains largely misunderstood. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the modern mutual sector, exploring its key opportunities and challenges.

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.

Childcare costs in the UK are contributing to poverty and gender inequality. As part of our cross-party Commission on Childcare, we're publishing new analysis on the extent of the childcare crisis - the impact of being dragged out of the labour market to look after children has a long-term, scarring effect on wages. We'll be engaging with stakeholders and developing policy solutions in Autumn.

The shift towards digital banking, accelerated by the pandemic, creates many opportunities and offers benefits for the economy as a whole – but also brings with it some risks. This report explores future access to retail banking services, and the best way to ensure any such changes take place fairly and sustainably, and no one is left behind.