Two new pieces of research on higher education funding are published today. These reports have been funded by the Nuffield Foundation and will be presented as part of the ESRC’s Festival of Social Science on Friday 9th November.

These are among the findings from two new reports by IFS researchers launched today, that use household survey data to investigate how well prepared for retirement individuals approaching the state pension age are, and how the wealth of older individuals has been affected by the financial crisis.

Spending by Welsh unitary authorities (UAs) is set to be 8.0% lower per person this year than in 2009-10 in real terms. Despite this significant cut the majority of the cuts implied by Government spending plans are still to come

When all primary school pupils in Newham and Durham were offered free school meals, attainment levels rose. Pupils in these areas made between 4 and 8 weeks more progress over a two year period than similar pupils in other areas.

The period of relative austerity facing the NHS could run to a decade according to a new report that maps the longer term financial challenge facing the health service.

Five new studies, published today as part of a special issue of the IFS journal Fiscal Studies, investigate the important role played by education and skills in improving the life chances of children from disadvantaged backgrounds and hence in increasing social mobility.

Raising revenue to pay for the proposals suggested by the Dilnot Commission on Funding of Care and Support offers an opportunity for the government to rationalise the tax and benefit system for those above State Pension Age, Paul Johnson, the director of the IFS, will say at a seminar on social care funding today.

Low-income families in Wales that receive help with their council tax bills will lose an average of £74 per year as cuts in funding from the UK Government are passed onto benefit claimants by the Welsh Government, according to a new report by IFS researchers.

This report uses the government's Households Below Average Income to provide a detailed analysis of trends in living standards, poverty and inequality.

Today the Department for Work and Pensions published their annual Households Below Average Income (HBAI) report. IFS researchers have analysed the figures.