Keir Starmer has confirmed that the government will "absolutely" stick to its fiscal rules, even if that means making "ruthless" decisions on the economy.

The Prime Minister’s clarion call to business leaders to ‘back Britain’ has been underpinned by the Attorney General’s message that “the rule of law matters for growth, jobs and people’s livelihoods”.

Labour peer and economist Lord Layard has spent years researching happiness. He tells Sophie Church why putting happiness at the heart of policy will keep Labour in power for longer

For many very good reasons, regulation now underpins and shapes our public services and the public realm that supports them. These rules are there to protect the public, to provide a measure for performance and of course to ensure that any investment made actually delivers value for money.

Responding to the Autumn Statement, Chair of the Bar Mark Fenhalls KC said:

“Why do you think the British public has fallen out of love with the Civil Service?”

Brexit gives us greater freedom over how the British economy works. But current insurance rules on investment, a legacy from our membership of the EU, are a hindrance to ‘Levelling Up’. We need to remove this roadblock and put public services first

The government's levelling up strategy needs to move beyond a focus on physical infrastructure in so-called ‘left behind’ areas and invest in social infrastructure to unlock the potential of communities.

A leading economic think tank has said Rishi Sunak’s spending plans “don’t look deliverable, at least not without considerable pain”, in a damning criticism of his Budget forecasts.

2020 is a year we will never forget, but among the challenges there have been plenty of positives. The brilliant work of the NHS, a rediscovered sense of community spirit, and the rehabilitation of business’ reputation.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that some areas of public services could be facing a further "bout of austerity" if the Chancellor presses ahead with his spending plans.

The House of Lords Public Services Committee has found failure in recent years to fund social care adequately and to integrate health and care services has had grave consequences during the pandemic.

Since the coronavirus pandemic erupted, universities, their staff and their students have stepped up.

The newly-formed House of Lords Public Services Committee is launching an urgent inquiry to explore the main areas of public service success and failure during the Covid-19 outbreak, looking at what lessons can be learned to shape future reform.