Evidence briefings

Over the next 20 years the number of people with two or more chronic conditions will almost double to nearly 10 million, increasing the demands on health and social care services. Multiple illnesses need to be given higher priority in healthcare planning and funding.

Young Syrian refugees in the UK have relatively high levels of skills and training, but many remain unemployed or over-qualified for the jobs they acquire. Targeted intervention is needed to integrate Syrian refugees and benefit from their skills contribution in society.

Bespoke customs union, the Chequers proposal, a Canada deal, association agreement or no deal: An at-a-glance overview of the different options and their likely impact.

Start-ups are crucial to the growth of the UK economy, with nearly 600,000 companies established last year – but support is needed to sustain local businesses beyond the start-up phase.

Whether or not a student leaves home to study is strongly influenced by social and ethnic background, affecting career choices and local retention of skills after studies.

Cities worldwide are increasingly embedding smart technology to gather and analyse data, with global 'smart city' revenue expected to grow to $88.7 billion by 2025. Smart cities have a huge potential for improving sustainability, but are currently limited by market-focused economic models.

Increased investment in national and local infrastructure across the UK is fundamental to increasing productivity and economic growth. There is a pressing need to adopt a broad, integrated approach to infrastructure planning, valuation and engineering.

Stamp duty discourages house moving locally, slowing down the housing market. Replacing it with an annual local tax on the value of land or property could increase housing mobility and provide incentives to local authorities to build more housing and to property owners to use land more efficiently.

The Sustainable Care Research Programme, based at the University of Sheffield, is investigating how social care arrangements can be made sustainable. The new programme is focusing on the care needs of adults living at home with chronic health problems or disabilities.

Skills in the workforce are crucial for firms’ ability to putinnovative ideas into practice and increase productivity. Focus has traditionally been on high-level skills, but intermediate-skilled technicians and wider workforce skills are also essential.