Welfare Meeting the childcare challenge for working parents – Elizabeth Truss MP Thursday 13 February 2014 Childcare is rising up the political agenda in the approach to the 2015 election and its costs can have a significant bearing on the living standards of working parents. In a keynote speech, Elizabeth Truss MP (Minister for Education and Childcare) set out the government’s agenda for meeting the challenge of high-quality and affordable childcare … Continued READ MORE
Living standards The State of Living Standards 2014 Tuesday 11 February 2014 In one of its landmark annual events, the Resolution Foundation launched The State of Living Standards, a detailed and revealing study of life on low to middle incomes. The survey examines in depth the economic circumstances and financial pressures on the 5 million households which fall into this category and asks how far their fortunes will change as … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Will 2014 be the year of the pay-rise? Tuesday 4 February 2014 After a decade of first wage-stagnation and then wage-slump, some analysts think it won’t be long before real earnings begin to rise again. With inflation back on target and GDP expected to rise this month for the fourth successive quarter, they argue that economic recovery will shortly translate into rising productivity, and with it real … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Reflections on the Autumn Statement Friday 6 December 2013 At this private roundtable held the morning after the Autumn Statement, Robert Chote – Chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility – set out the OBR’s thinking behind the Economic and fiscal outlook. His presentation was followed by short responses from RIchard Lloyd (Executive Director, Which?), Professor Alison Wolf (King’s College, London) and Peter Kellner … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Stuck on the ground floor or climbing the stairs: Who gets stuck on low pay, who escapes and what makes the difference? Wednesday 27 November 2013 Both low pay and social mobility are recognised as serious concerns in Britain but much less attention has been given to how easy or hard it is for someone to work their way up the earnings scale. Who gets stuck on low pay and who gets on? The Resolution Foundation has conducted a major and … Continued READ MORE
Housing Sharing the spoils: bringing home ownership into reach for low to middle income households Wednesday 20 November 2013 Low to middle income households are increasingly shut out of traditional home ownership, and more and more families with children are living in the private rental sector. We know, however, that home ownership overwhelmingly remains most people’s preferred tenure and the lack of asset accumulation amongst long term renters is a concern. This event launched … Continued READ MORE
Living standards What’s the damage? The impact of the great recession on the jobs market in Britain and America — and the prospects for a recovery Thursday 14 November 2013 With a recovery in GDP now taking hold in the UK, attention is being drawn to the nature of the upturn. Central to this debate will be the outlook for the labour market. As things stand, uncertainty is the order of the day. Will unemployment keep falling as growth takes hold, followed by rising real … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Living standards, working poverty and social mobility – Alan Milburn Wednesday 13 November 2013 Living standards are falling, youth unemployment remains high and the goal of ending child poverty by 2020 is likely to be missed by a considerable margin. Whilst entrenched poverty remains a priority for action, transient poverty, growing insecurity and stalling mobility are far more widespread than politicians, employers and educators have so far recognised. At … Continued READ MORE
Housing Building homes for generation rent – can institutional investment meet the challenge? Thursday 10 October 2013 Low to middle income families are increasingly shut out of home ownership and not qualifying for social housing. This means that there is a need to focus specifically on increasing the supply of market rent property, but any new supply must be fit for purpose. Families with children now account for a third of the 3.8 million households … Continued READ MORE
Welfare The future of childcare with Amber Rudd MP Tuesday 1 October 2013 Despite major government investment since the mid-2000s childcare continues to represent a significant cost for working parents, meaning that many second earners can find that they are no better-off in work. The government is consulting on plans to spend an extra £1 billion per year on additional childcare support, but at present this additional support … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Living Standards: the 2015 challenge with Jesse Norman MP and Rob Halfon MP Monday 30 September 2013 Living standards will be at the heart of the 2015 general election. This event launched new polling from the Resolution Foundation and YouGov which gives fresh insight into what voters think the Conservatives can (and can’t) achieve on the economy and in relation to living standards at the 2015 election. YouGov’s Joe Twyman presented the research. Jesse Norman … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The Conservative approach to tackling low pay with Tim Montgomerie Sunday 29 September 2013 With five million people being paid less than the living wage politicians of all parties need an agenda to address the UK’s low wage economy and lift living standards. At this Resolution Foundation and TUC event Tim Montgomerie (The Times) and Guy Opperman MP discussed the Conservative agenda for improving the plight of low paid Britain. Frances O’Grady (TUC), Gavin Kelly (Resolution Foundation) and David … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Living Standards: the 2015 challenge with Rachel Reeves MP Tuesday 24 September 2013 Living standards will be at the heart of the 2015 general election. This event launched new polling from the Resolution Foundation and YouGov which gives fresh insight into what voters think Labour can (and can’t) achieve on the economy and in relation to living standards at the 2015 election. YouGov’s Peter Kellner presented the research. Rachel Reeves MP (Shadow Chief … Continued READ MORE
Welfare The future of childcare with Yvette Cooper MP Monday 23 September 2013 Despite major government investment since the mid-2000s childcare continues to represent a significant cost for working parents, meaning that many second earners can find that they are no better-off in work. The government is consulting on plans to spend an extra £1 billion per year on additional childcare support, but at present this additional support … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The Labour approach to tackling low pay with Andy Burnham MP Monday 23 September 2013 With five million people being paid less than the living wage politicians of all parties need an agenda to address the UK’s low wage economy and lift living standards. At this Resolution Foundation and TUC event Andy Burnham MP (Shadow Health Secretary) discussed the Labour agenda for improving the plight of low paid Britain. Frances O’Grady (TUC), James Plunkett (Resolution Foundation) and Sir Robin … Continued READ MORE
Welfare The future of childcare with Julian Astle (adviser to Nick Clegg) Tuesday 17 September 2013 Despite major government investment since the mid-2000s childcare continues to represent a significant cost for working parents, meaning that many second earners can find that they are no better-off in work. The government is consulting on plans to spend an extra £1 billion per year on additional childcare support, but at present this additional support … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Living Standards: the 2015 challenge with Danny Alexander MP Monday 16 September 2013 Living standards will be at the heart of the 2015 general election. This event launched new polling from the Resolution Foundation and YouGov which gives fresh insight into what voters think the Liberal Democrats can (and can’t) achieve on the economy and in relation to living standards at the 2015 election. YouGov’s Joe Twyman presented the research. Danny Alexander MP (Chief … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The Liberal Democrat approach to tackling low pay with Vince Cable MP Monday 16 September 2013 With five million people being paid less than the living wage politicians of all parties need an agenda to address the UK’s low wage economy and lift living standards. At this Resolution Foundation and TUC event Vince Cable MP (Business Secretary) discussed the Liberal Democrat agenda for improving the plight of low paid Britain. Frances O’Grady (TUC), James Plunkett (Resolution Foundation) and Stephen Tall (Liberal … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The Labour agenda for tackling low pay – Rachel Reeves MP Wednesday 4 September 2013 With five million people being paid less than the living wage politicians of all parties need an agenda to address the UK’s low wage economy and lift living standards. In a keynote speech, Rachel Reeves MP set out the Labour agenda for improving the plight of low paid Britain. Paul Cleal (Government and Public Sector Leader at PwC), Margaret Prosser (Former … Continued READ MORE
Housing Closer to the edge: prospects for household debt repayment when interest rates start to rise Thursday 11 July 2013 Despite difficult economic times and the persistence of tight credit conditions, latest OBR projections suggest that aggregate household debt is set to increase by around one-quarter between 2011 and 2017. With many commentators expecting interest rates to start climbing back upwards from 2015, the ability of households to service their credit commitments will depend critically … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Reflections on the Spending Review – with Sharon White Thursday 27 June 2013 At this private roundtable held the morning after the Spending Review, Sharon White – Director General at HM Treasury – set out some of the thinking behind the review. Her presentation was followed by short responses from Professor Sir John Hills (LSE), Ian Mulheirn (chief executive of the Social Market Foundation), Joe Twyman (YouGov) and by a general discussion around … Continued READ MORE
Labour market A Matter of Time: The rise of zero hours contracts Tuesday 25 June 2013 “Zero hours” contracts are anything but a new phenomenon – employment contracts of this kind have been around for many years. Yet the use of zero hours contracts among UK employers has risen sharply in recent years. For some people a zero hours contract offers welcome choice and flexibility. However, for the majority, the freedom … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The minimum wage at 15 – fully grown-up? Thursday 20 June 2013 Since the National Minimum Wage became law in 1998 it has raised the pay of the lowest earners in the UK. Extreme low pay has fallen by nearly 80 per cent and there is a broad academic consensus that the minimum wage has not caused unemployment. Yet low pay more generally remains a major problem, … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The Liberal Democrat agenda for tackling low pay Wednesday 12 June 2013 With five million people being paid less than the living wage politicians of all parties need an agenda to address the UK’s low wage economy and lift living standards. In a keynote speech, David Laws MP set out the Liberal Democrat agenda for improving the plight of low paid Britain. Download a transcript of the … Continued READ MORE
Labour market The road back towards full employment Thursday 23 May 2013 The UK labour market has performed relatively well in recent years given the weakness of GDP, with the number of people in work now back above its pre-recession peak. Yet job creation has lagged far behind population growth, leaving the UK far below its pre-recession employment rate. In the coming years, not least as the … Continued READ MORE
