Labour market More than a minimum: Where next for the National Minimum Wage? Tuesday 17 April 2012 Since its introduction in 1999 the minimum wage has raised the pay of some of the lowest earners in Britain. Now, as might be expected in tough economic times, growth in its value has gone into reverse. The recent announcement that the minimum wage will rise by 11 pence to £6.19 in October 2012 marks … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Lowering the Price of Motherhood: improving childcare, employer flexibility and part-time work Thursday 15 March 2012 Rising female employment has been central to Britain’s economy and the living standards of families over the last two decades. But once women have children, they often find themselves taking lower skilled, lower paid jobs because of the high costs of childcare, inflexible jobs and the lack of high quality part time work. In the … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Easing the squeeze: personal allowances or tax credits? Wednesday 14 March 2012 Commission on Living Standards Policy Series In the run up to the Budget one of the central questions is what the next move will be on personal tax allowances as a tool in ‘ending austerity’ for those on low to middle incomes. The Resolution Foundation invites you to join us in a discussion of the … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Developing an Industrial Strategy for the UK Monday 27 February 2012 In an age of globalisation and rapid technological change, what steps must the UK take to rebalance the economy and improve productivity and real wages whilst delivering environmental sustainability and social justice. The Resolution Foundation, IPPR, and the New Economics Foundation held a conference bringing together senior politicians, leading academics and business leaders to discuss what an industrial strategy … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Keynote speech by Nick Clegg Thursday 26 January 2012 As part of the Resolution Foundation’s Commission on Living Standards the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, gave a keynote speech. The Deputy Prime Minister spoke on how to improve the living standards of low to middle income families, before taking questions. READ MORE
Living standards Squeezed Britain: the state of low to middle income households today Monday 23 January 2012 Squeezed Britain, launched at this event, uses the latest large scale survey data to give a snapshot of life for households living on a low to middle income in the UK. This timely and authoritative publication sets out the economic position of this group and paints a picture of what life is like in the … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Progress for the Poor – how much do growth and government help? Tuesday 22 November 2011 To mark the publication of his groundbreaking new book exploring the impact of economic growth and government policy on the living standards of the least well-off, the IPPR and the Resolution Foundation held a lunchtime discussion with Lane Kenworthy, Professor of Sociology and Political Science at the University of Arizona. With growth flat, living standards … Continued READ MORE
Living standards The Great Stagnation? What Britain can learn from the declining fortunes of the American middle class Monday 21 November 2011 As part of its Commission on Living Standards, Resolution Foundation held this seminal event which brought together leading US and UK economists to discuss what Britain can learn from the declining fortunes of the American middle class. For a generation the wages of ordinary working Americans have barely risen. Middle skilled jobs have been in … Continued READ MORE
Housing The end of home ownership – is renting really so bad? Thursday 3 November 2011 Despite a continued aspiration to own, many low to middle income households are facing a lifetime of renting privately. In today’s housing market it would take the average low to middle income household 31 years to save for a deposit on a first home. If the private rented sector is to meet their need for affordable, … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Squeezed Britain: how do we create the growth we want? Thursday 3 November 2011 We are holding this event in partnership with Demos. READ MORE
Living standards Financial Health Forum: 3 November 2011 Thursday 3 November 2011 The Financial Health Forum was held on 3 November 2011 at the Resolution Foundation. READ MORE
Living standards How does Labour win back ‘the middle’? Tuesday 27 September 2011 We are holding our Labour Party Conference Event in partnership with IPPR. READ MORE
Living standards Labour Party Conference: ‘Financial Health’ Breakfast Meeting Tuesday 27 September 2011 Resolution Foundation hosted a ‘Financial Health’ breakfast at Labour Party Conference in partnership with Money Advice Trust to explore what can be done to improve the financial health of vulnerable people on low incomes. Gavin Kelly, Chief Executive of Resolution Foundation, opened and chaired the meeting pointing to the importance of financial health issue not … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Squeezed Britain: when will living standards rise again? Tuesday 20 September 2011 View Gavin Kelly’s presentation here. This event was held in partnership with Centre Forum. READ MORE
Living standards David Willetts MP launched new findings on social mobility Tuesday 6 September 2011 Introduced by Clive Cowdery (Chairman of the Resolution Foundation), the discussion focused on which factors contribute to how peoples’ earnings change during their working lives. Is it about gender, where you live, what education you receive or what kind of job you have? Our most recent work reveals the answers to some of these questions. … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Financial Health Forum: 15 June 2010 Wednesday 15 June 2011 The Financial Health Forum met on the 15th of June. The two subjects for in-depth discussion were the Consumer Financial Education Body (CFEB) and Money Guidance and the findings of new research by Policis into high cost credit and low income users. Chris Pond, the new FSA Senior Adviser to the CFEB, provided an update … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Growth without gain? Friday 27 May 2011 On 27 May the Resolution Foundation launched its first report to the Commission on Living Standards. Some of Britain’s leading economic thinkers came together to discuss whether the UK is moving into a new era of growth without gain for those on low to middle incomes. Chairing the event was Channel 4 News Economics Editor, Faisal … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Living Wage Roundtable Monday 9 May 2011 The Resolution Foundation hosted an expert roundtable in conjunction with IPPR to mark the beginning of our new joint project on the living wage – Making pay work: exploring the role of the living wage in improving living standards. The event included an outline of the project by Kayte Lawton (IPPR) & Matthew Whittaker (Resolution Foundation), … Continued READ MORE
Financial Health Forum meeting Tuesday 3 May 2011 The Financial Health Forum met for its 8th meeting this week. Attendees included experts in financial health within the financial services industry, government and the third sector. READ MORE
Housing Roundtable Discussion on Housing Friday 15 April 2011 The Resolution Foundation held a roundtable discussion, in partnership with the London Development Agency, to consider the role Local Authorities can play in supporting the housing needs of low-to-middle earners via build-to-let development. The Resolution Foundation recently published a briefing paper outlining the housing needs of low-to-middle earners and the possible contribution of institutional investment in the … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Seminar: The Future Financing of Childcare Tuesday 12 April 2011 As part of changes to the benefits system and the introduction of universal credit, the Government has announced that it is rethinking the way in which government provides support for childcare for working parents but has not yet settled on a financing mechanism. Options include: providing support for childcare through a voucher or discount system, … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Launch of the Resolution Foundation Commission on Living Standards Monday 28 February 2011 The Resolution Foundation Commission on Living Standards was launched on Monday 28 February in front of an audience of 200 leading thinkers, journalists, politicians and members of the public. The audience was addressed by Gavin Kelly, Clive Cowdery and Ed Miliband, who gave the keynote speech. READ MORE
Welfare Universal Credit Seminar Thursday 17 February 2011 The Welfare Reform Bill published on 17 February set out plans to replace the current system of means-tested benefits and tax credits for working-age adults with a single benefit from October 2013. The Universal Credit is designed to simplify the benefit system and strengthen financial incentives to work. However, there is likely to be a … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Social mobility Seminar Tuesday 1 February 2011 The question as to what has happened to social mobility in the UK over recent decades tends to generate more heat than light. To help clarify exactly what has happened to earnings mobility (and why) the Resolution Foundation has embarked on a major new programme of work. As part of this we hosted an expert … Continued READ MORE
Housing Institutional investment in the rental market to support the housing needs of people on low-to-middle incomes Monday 13 December 2010 On 13 December we hosted a roundtable, in partnership with Grainger, to explore whether and how institutional investment could support the housing needs of people on low-to-middle incomes. The roundtable event was attended by a range of stakeholders including institutions, housing associations, landlords, experts and government policy makers. Key barriers to institutional investment included: lower … Continued READ MORE
