Welfare Tories dodge a bullet on childcare 7 October 2011 In the past year the government has proven good at cauterising self-inflicted wounds. This morning’s announcement from Iain Duncan Smith on childcare stems another potential bleeder. His department have found an extra £300m to prevent further cuts to childcare support. It’s a welcome reversal of an ill-advised plan and a narrowly averted political foul-up. The extra money … Continued READ MORE
Welfare U-turn on childcare cuts: is the coalition waking up to its women problem? 7 October 2011 Sooner or later something had to give. And today it has. Following much speculation the government has finally announced a change in its planned cuts to childcare, a key area of concern for many working mothers (and fathers). The recent heat about fast falling support for the coalition among key groups of women voters is … Continued READ MORE
Housing Personal debt – the PM should be careful what he wishes for 5 October 2011 According to reports this morning, David Cameron will use his conference speech this afternoon to call on Britain’s households to pay down their debts. He will say that dealing with debt means not just paying down public debt but also “households – all of us – paying off the credit card and store card bills.” Such comments … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Lifting the lid on Low Pay Britain 4 October 2011 The National Minimum Wage rose by 15 pence per hour to £6.08 over the weekend, providing a timely boost to the incomes of the very lowest paid workers. On Sunday, new research by the Resolution Foundation put that rise into the broader context of low pay in modern Britain. Around one fifth of all employees in the … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The only way is up? The minimum wage and Britain’s low paid workers 30 September 2011 Tomorrow sees a 15p pence per hour pay rise for Britain’s lowest paid workers. Of course, every penny helps, but don’t expect to hear much gratitude. With RPI inflation running at 5.2%, this year’s VAT increase still being absorbed, tax credits being stripped back and any number of other pressures on the cost of living, … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Want to earn your way up? Fine – just don’t be a woman, live outside of London, or work part-time 23 September 2011 Who earns their way up in today’s Britain? Recent work suggests the story of mobility is not all doom and gloom. It showed a significant rise in overall earnings mobility in the 2000s compared to the 1990s, admittedly starting from a low base. More people are now climbing the earnings ladder in their own lifetime, … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances The coalition’s £11bn stealth cut 21 September 2011 A technical quirk will allow the government to skim small amounts each year from lower income households.What’s the biggest cut George Osborne has made as Chancellor? Scroll through the Budget Red Book and the answer may surprise you. There’s the removal of child benefit from higher rate taxpayers, clocking in at £2.5bn by the end of the … Continued READ MORE
Labour market New figures show women’s employment prospects the worst for decades 14 September 2011 With the coalition’s efforts to win back female voters in the news today, this morning’s new employment stats (pdf) couldn’t have come at a worse time. The figures on women’s employment are terrible. First, underemployment – an area of particular importance to women in the jobs market – has reached historic highs: • The number of people … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The coalition’s woes with women 13 September 2011 If you want to see a fearful expression, talk to senior coalition members about shifting patterns of support among women voters. Call it a cold-sweat, or a premature onset of mid-term jitters — they are distinctly, indisputably on edge. Which is odd, at least on the face of it, given that the Conservatives — if … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Taxing times for the coalition (contd…) 12 September 2011 by Gavin Kelly Just in case there was any risk of the coalition row on tax policy cooling down for a day or two, along comes a new report today, Tax and the Coalition, to fan the flames.We do, of course, need to bear in mind that in this choppy pre-party conference period, there is bound to be a … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Telling the story of the recession 12 September 2011 One of the toughest challenges of economic policy is effective and timely communication. Few Governments will survive long if their economic message is out of alignment with what people are feeling. That’s why when ministers point to ‘green shoots’ too early you can expect a speedy retraction. But in a subtler way, it’s also why the … Continued READ MORE
Labour market America’s skills crisis carries lessons for Britain 10 September 2011 by James Plunkett Yesterday’s FT contained one of those ominous stories that only grow in significance over time – the findings of a survey by Nielsen that reveals a huge, looming skills shortage in the US as the baby boomer generation retires. In the next five years, America’s top 100 industrial companies face an average training bill of … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Childcare double whammy: help is cut as costs soar 9 September 2011 The survey (pdf) published yesterday by the Daycare Trust and Save the Children was a stark reminder of the soaring costs of childcare and the impact they are having on family budgets. Fifty eight per cent of parents in severe poverty said they were no better off working once they’d paid for childcare; 41% said they were considering giving … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Willetts plays snakes and ladders 7 September 2011 by Vidhya Alakeson Social mobility has become something of a hot topic for the coalition. February’s Social Mobility White Paper made it the government’s number one social policy goal. Yet arguments over tuition fees have rather drowned out much of what they have to say on the topic, particularly when it comes to education and skills. So it … Continued READ MORE
Housing ‘Generation rent’ needs a helping hand 1 September 2011 by Vidhya Alakeson Without a clear signal from government of its commitment to build-to-let development, we are unlikely to see investment take off in a new type of private rented sector Yesterday’s report from the National Housing Federation predicted that by 2021 home ownership in Britain will have fallen to its lowest levels since the mid 1980s. 64 per … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Squeezed households will need higher wages 26 August 2011 by James Plunkett While Libya takes the spotlight, the British economy wheezes in the dark. Monday’s survey from Markit showed household finances worsening at their fastest rate since early 2009. Yesterday, a new poll from the Resolution Foundation confirmed that picture. Half of all low-to-middle income households say they’re running out of cash each month; only one in four are … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Household finances are a ‘millstone’ around the neck of recovery 25 August 2011 by James Plunkett A new poll out today from the Resolution Foundation confirms the extent to which poor household finances are now exerting a downward pull on the UK economy. The poll, carried out for the Foundation by ipsos MORI, finds that almost half of all people on low-to-middle incomes now say have no cash left over at the end … Continued READ MORE
Welfare These tax cut whispers are about to get louder 21 August 2011 by Gavin Kelly With summer over, the skies are darkening in more ways than one. Economic forecasts, previously strong for this autumn, have long been heading south. Last week sharpened the sense of impending crisis. The FTSE has been shaken more violently than at any time since the paroxysms of early 2009. On Wednesday, unemployment stats took their … Continued READ MORE
Housing Making a Rented House a Home 8 August 2011 by Vidhya Alakeson Published today, the Resolution Foundation’s Making a Rented House a Home outlines the shocking fact that the average low to middle income household buying a home today would have taken 31 years to save for a deposit , compared to 8 years in 1983. Last week a report by the estate agents, Savills, revealed that for the … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Low growth implications for living standards particularly bleak 26 July 2011 by James Plunkett This morning’s weak Q2 stats (pdf) would be worrying in any recovery. But in the aftermath of such a deep fall in output their implications for real trends in living standards are particularly bleak. The UK economy still has a long way to climb back to pre-recession levels of output. Chart 1 below (now updated from a recent post to … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Share of GDP paid to low earners down 25% in 30 years 25 July 2011 by Matthew Whittaker The Resolution Foundation today publishes the latest report to the Commission on Living Standards. The report,Missing Out, (pdf) reveals that the share of GDP paid as wages to the bottom half of earners has fallen by a quarter over the last 30 years. In 1977, workers in the bottom half of the earnings distribution received £16 of … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Who ate all the pie? 25 July 2011 by Gavin Kelly You probably won’t be too surprised to hear that for a long time many workers have been receiving an ever smaller portion of the fruits of economic growth. But if we are to properly understand the ‘trickle-up’ tendencies of British capitalism we need to not only register the depressing headline but get under the surface … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances A gloomy prognosis for Q2 growth stats 22 July 2011 by James Plunkett Next Tuesday the ONS releases its first estimate of second quarter UK GDP growth. It may be a slight exaggeration to call it a ‘make or break’ moment for the Chancellor but ‘make or brake’ might not be a bad description. After six months of no growth another three months of flat GDP would strengthen … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances When rates finally rise, things are set to get nasty 18 July 2011 by Gavin Kelly A good recession followed by a bad recovery. Trite lines like this are often wide of the mark, but this one bears some truth. The fallout of the economic downturn over the last few years – though harsh – was less gruesome than first feared in terms of overall unemployment, bankruptcies and repossessions. The risk … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Haven’t I seen this revolution before? 12 July 2011 by Gavin Kelly David Cameron’s public service reforms suffer from a serious zeitgeist problem. Buried under the detritus of the escalating News International scandal is the government’s long awaited public services white paper. Assuming you missed it, it’s all about the need for “narrative” and to demonstrate a coherent governing project. Senior politicians, and the commentators they talk to, obsess … Continued READ MORE
