Brilliant event on levelling up today. Four key charts follow, rest here ifs.org.uk/events/1953

1) The low paid get the same everywhere - that's one reason poverty in London is so high. Gaps between regions are at top end of earnings distribution 2) Very big differences across areas in proportion who go on to unversity. And graduates move away from poorer areas where fewer graduate in the first place

All that extra money announced by govt last week not quite what it seems. ifs.org.uk/publications/1…

The "Rooseveltian" additional £5.5bn of capital spending represents an increase of precisely zero this year on Budget plans. Is a reallocation from one set of projects to another The £2bn green homes grant is also funded by underspends from elsewhere (don't know where). Also true of half the £400m for traineeships etc

This may all be (probably is) perfectly sensible reallocation but the lack of transparency is remarkable

What follows are the six new choices it immediately seems to me government will need to make once this is over. We'll be in a completely new economic world. (Me in @thetimes today thetimes.co.uk/edition/busine…)

Choice 1, how to respond to elevated debt. Choice 2, what to do with the tax system. A chance surely for a serious rethink

Some key conclusions from our pre-budget analysis out today.

1) Govt may not reach current budget balance even with no change in policy. Extra spending will require tax rises or ditching fiscal target (16th target in a decade). Looser target would put debt on rising path 2) Outside of health current public service spending per person is a remarkable 26% or £54 billion below 2010 peak. More money needs to be found just to avoid further cuts.