We are able to announce the start of a new project funded by the UKRI in which we will work with partners in VisitScotland to quantify the economic impact of COVID-19 scenarios on tourism in Scotland.
In the election debate on Wednesday evening, the topic of Universal Basic Income came up in the discussion. It’s an issue that can unite people across the political divides and yet divide those within the same ideological camps.
A range of new social security powers have been devolved to the Scottish Parliament in the last few years relating to disability and carer benefits. The 2021 election may see different parties talking about elements of these new benefits, and how they could be changed over the course of the next parliament. In this briefing, we set out the main benefits in Scotland that have been devolved and are relevant for working age adults with a disability and those who care for them.
Household income is a key determinant of a household’s standard of living. Government policies can have a range of direct and indirect impacts on the amount of money households have to spend on goods and services. Hence, it becomes a big deal at election time, with lots of debate about winners and losers and who should and shouldn’t benefit. This briefing provides a guide to household incomes in Scotland to help navigate the debate.
The economy will no doubt feature in most debates regarding the election. Given the current situation, it is difficult to unpick exactly what is going on, and what may unravel once restrictions, and protections, are lifted in the autumn.
The Scottish election is coming on May 6. With so much going on in Holyrood in the last few weeks, anyone following events will probably feel like they need a lie down rather than getting geared up for an election.
In our first election podcast, Mairi Spowage, Emma Congreve, David Eiser and Stuart McIntyre reflect on the big themes likely to feature in this election and answer some of the questions asked by our webinar audience earlier this week that we didn’t have time to answer.
This paper reviews the tax policy changes that have been implemented in Scotland between the 2017/18 and 2021/22 budgets. It considers the motivation for policy changes, as well as their impacts on taxpayers and government revenues.
Tomorrow we will see the latest statistics on income and poverty in Scotland and across the UK. Unfortunately, these statistics won’t be able to tell us about the impact of coronavirus on household incomes as the data will be for the 2019/20 financial year. However, the data will be important in helping us to understand whether poverty was falling pre-pandemic and what else will need to happen once the worst effects of the pandemic recede if we are to meet the ambitions set out in the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act.
Today we hosted an Election Webinar to kick start our upcoming election analysis. The webinar was chaired by Mairi Spowage, Director, Fraser of Allander Institute, and she will be joined by special guest Professor Sir John Curtice.
