Finds, which is funded through UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI’s) Smart Data Research UK programme, said the five projects would span areas such as financial resilience, income inequality, small business economics and access to social care.

One funded project is on the impact of child-related benefits on parental spending, led by Tom Wernham at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, while another will look at instability in individuals’ incomes and spending, led by Professor Stephen Jenkins at the London School of Economics.

Other projects include exploring fair access to free personal care in Scotland, led by Dr Elizabeth Lemmon at the University of Edinburgh; small and medium-sized enterprises’ responses to increases in the national living wage and national insurance contributions, headed by Professor Paul Mizen at King’s Business School at King’s College London; and financial vulnerability among young people, led by Eugenia Wong at the University of Edinburgh.

Magdalena Getler, head of research growth at Finds, said: “Financial data is a powerful yet novel evidence base for socioeconomic research. Our Finds fellowship projects represent exactly the kind of rigorous, independent research which can turn smart data into genuine public insight.

“SDR UK’s, and Finds’, investment in these innovative projects will showcase the usability and relevance of smart data for research and policy.”