Findings
Short, dated pieces of analysis drawn from series already on this site. Every figure in the text is tied to a named period, and the charts underneath are drawn live from the same data, so the prose can be checked against the series it describes. Free to reuse with attribution.
Who is let a new social home, by nationality
4 September 2026 · Housing
In 2024/25, 88.7% of England's 262,944 new social lettings went to a UK-national lead tenant; the non-UK share has doubled since 2007/08, from 5.7% to 11.3%.
Prisons are running about 2,000 places short of full
4 September 2026 · Justice
In the week beginning 24 August 2026 the prison population of England and Wales was 86,843 against a useable operational capacity of 88,937 — headroom of 2,094 places, or 2.4%.
The NHS waiting list is half a million below its peak, but the 18-week standard is still far off
4 September 2026 · Health
The elective waiting list in England stood at 7,272,291 in June 2026, down from a peak of 7,768,573 in September 2023 — yet only 65.8% of waits were within 18 weeks against a 92% standard.
Debt interest now costs more than education
4 September 2026 · Spending
Since 2022-23 the UK has spent more servicing its debt than running its schools, colleges and universities.
The asylum backlog is a quarter of its 2022 peak
4 September 2026 · Migration
Decisions have outpaced new claims since 2023, taking the backlog from 160,919 cases at the end of 2022 to 40,168 by June 2026.