Last Week / Next Week — 25 October 2026

A UK-centred review of how longer lives, public services, technology and culture are changing — and the decisions coming into view.

Last week

Britain's population aged 90-plus reaches 645,000

On 23 October, the Office for National Statistics estimated that 645,000 UK residents were aged 90 or over in 2025, up 55.2% since 2005. An estimated 16,400 people had reached 100, compared with about 13,700 in 2015. Men at the oldest ages are increasing in number faster than women, although women still account for most centenarians.

Implications

Longer survival changes the scale and duration of demand for accessible homes, community services, transport and care. The sex composition of very old age is also changing. Headcounts alone cannot tell us how many additional years are lived in good health, or how needs differ by income, ethnicity and locality.

Care quality depends increasingly on where people live

The Care Quality Commission's *State of Care* report, published on 23 October, described an English health and care system struggling to keep pace with demand. More than 80,000 children and young people had waited over a year for a community health appointment. In adult care, 37% of care-home residents were self-funders, while providers and commissioning arrangements varied sharply between places.

Implications

A National Care Service would need more than a new funding settlement or name. Commissioning capacity, workforce continuity, inspection and consistent access are central to whether people receive dependable support. The report also cautions against treating the problems of ageing and children's services as competing claims: both expose weaknesses in local service infrastructure.

UK advisers warn against becoming an AI customer nation

On 19 October, the government's Council for Science and Technology published advice on AI sovereignty. Its four recommendations call for a national plan, clearer coordination, investment in domestic skills and data, and continued access to leading international models while developing selected UK capabilities.

Implications

The choice is not simply between building a British frontier model and importing everything. Universities, public services and businesses need enough technical competence to assess suppliers, protect sensitive data and switch systems when necessary. Public value will depend on how capability is distributed, not only on the location of datacentres.

Inflation and borrowing narrow the Budget's options

On 21 October, UK consumer-price inflation rose to 3.5% in the year to September, from 3.1% in August, with motor fuels a major driver. Separately, September public borrowing reached £24.5 billion; provisional public debt exceeded £3 trillion, equivalent to 94.0% of GDP.

Implications

The government enters its 28 October Budget facing pressure to protect household purchasing power while containing debt-interest costs. Pensioners, working-age households and businesses experience price rises differently. Fiscal choices should be judged both by their immediate distributional effects and by whether they preserve capacity to invest in services and infrastructure.

Local planning reform encounters democratic resistance

During the week, Tameside joined Bolton and Central Bedfordshire in resisting changes to planning decision-making. Rules due to take effect on 31 October would move more decisions from elected planning committees to professional officers. Ministers argue this will speed housing delivery; opponents say it weakens local democratic oversight.

Implications

Britain needs more homes, but faster decisions do not automatically deliver affordable housing or trusted regeneration. The test is whether planning reform can shorten avoidable delays while maintaining transparent decisions, community confidence and the infrastructure new residents need.

Creators renew the argument for a share of technology's gains

On 25 October, representatives of UK creative organisations argued that technology firms should compensate creators whose work contributes value to digital products. They advocated a proposed device-based Smart Fund, suggesting it could generate up to £300 million a year for creative livelihoods and programmes. This is an advocacy proposal, not an enacted levy.

Implications

AI copyright disputes are one part of a wider problem: cultural work can circulate and generate commercial value without providing stable incomes to its makers. Any new compensation mechanism would need to show who pays, how money reaches creators and whether smaller practitioners benefit rather than only established rights-holders.

Next week

26 October — evidence deadline for children's social care reform

The House of Lords Public Services Committee's children's social care inquiry closes its call for written evidence at 11.59pm on Monday 26 October. The inquiry examines how services are organised and regulated and the outcomes experienced by children in care.

Implications

Evidence from care-experienced people, local authorities and providers can help distinguish problems of funding from those of accountability, placement stability and support for families. Reform proposals should be tested against children's actual trajectories, not solely system-level targets.

27 October — MPs examine children's mental health provision

At 10am on Tuesday 27 October, the Commons Health and Social Care Committee takes oral evidence on children's and young people's mental health. Witnesses listed include representatives of Compass UK, Talk Listen Change, Northampton Saints Foundation and The Well Centre.

Implications

The hearing offers a view of support outside hospital settings, including voluntary and community provision. After the CQC's warning about waiting times, a key test is whether early intervention can be made accessible and dependable rather than relying on isolated local programmes.

28 October — the Chancellor presents the 2026 Budget

Chancellor John Healey is due to deliver the Budget statement in the Commons at approximately 12.30pm on Wednesday 28 October, alongside updated fiscal forecasts.

Implications

Look beyond headline tax changes to the distribution of support across households, local government, housing and care, and to the treatment of long-term investment. A credible account of social renewal must connect spending promises with the workforce, productivity and revenue needed to deliver them.

28 October–3 November — media literacy moves into city policy

During UNESCO's Global Media and Information Literacy Week, a *MIL Cities* programme is scheduled for 28 October to 3 November in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and Al Rayyan, Qatar. The wider 24–31 October programme brings educators, journalists, creators, regulators and communities into discussions about trustworthy information.

Implications

Media literacy is not just a school subject. Libraries, community groups and local authorities have roles in helping people of different ages navigate AI-generated content, online fraud and unreliable information. British cities can learn from approaches that treat digital confidence as civic infrastructure.

31 October — World Cities Day turns to housing and regeneration

The United Nations' World Cities Day observance takes place in Fuzhou, China, on Saturday 31 October under the theme *Regenerating the City: Adequate Housing for All*. The programme examines regeneration, affordability, neighbourhood resilience and safeguards against displacement.

Implications

For British cities, the comparison is useful: regeneration should be assessed by the security and quality of housing it provides existing residents, not only by construction totals or investment attracted. Affordability, access to services and the risk of displacement need to be designed into projects from the start.