Welfare New Work and Pensions Secretary must reclaim Universal Credit from the Treasury 2 May 2016 Resolution Foundation calls for major reforms as full roll-out of Universal Credit begins this month A few weeks into his role, the new Work and Pensions Secretary has been urged to reclaim Universal Credit (UC) from the Treasury. The advice is contained in a major new report published today (Tuesday) by the Resolution Foundation … Continued READ MORE
Housing Rising housing costs since the 1990s equivalent to 10p increase in basic rate of tax for a typical family 26 April 2016 Post-crash fall in housing costs softened living standards squeeze but recent increases risks holding back the recovery The rising share of income spent on housing over the last two decades is equivalent to a 10p increase in the basic rate of tax for a typical family, according to new Resolution Foundation analysis published today (Tuesday). … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Employment at record levels but growth has stalled 20 April 2016 Fresh impetus needed to make further progress towards full employment The UK employment rate remains at a record high but has plateaued in the last five months, the Resolution Foundation said today in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The headline employment rate stayed at 74.1 per cent in the three months to … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Richest to lose ten times as much as poorest half of households from Scottish council tax reforms 8 April 2016 Resolution Foundation welcomes battle over progressive property taxation in run up to Scottish elections The average cash losses from the Scottish government’s proposed council tax reforms will be over ten times greater for the richest tenth of households compared to the poorest half, according to a new report published today (Friday) by the Resolution Foundation. … Continued READ MORE
Housing Tipping point in housing market as people in their late 20s now more likely to rent privately than own a home 6 April 2016 New figures published today (Wednesday) by the ONS in its Economic Review show that people aged 25-29 are now more likely to rent privately (43.3 per cent) than own a home with mortgage (39 per cent). This tipping point in home ownership across the UK marks a dramatic change from just 15 years ago, … Continued READ MORE
Labour market One in three workers set for a pay rise in National Living Wage hotspots across Britain 30 March 2016 Workers in Torridge, Rossendale, Woking and Castle Point most likely to benefit Up to a third of workers in some areas of Britain are set for a pay rise as a result of the introduction of the National Living Wage (NLW), the new legal wage floor of £7.20 an hour that comes into effect this Friday for … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Pay of lowest earners rising four times faster than an average worker’s this year 27 March 2016 National Living Wage means pay growth for lowest earners will be 50 per cent faster than average wage growth over the parliament The pay of minimum wage workers will rise four times faster than average earnings this year, according to new analysis published today (Sunday) by independent think tank the Resolution Foundation in advance of … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Government right to abandon further welfare savings – but low income families still set to lose out 21 March 2016 Commenting on the announcement this afternoon by the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Stephen Crabb MP, that there would be “no further plans to make welfare savings beyond the very substantial savings legislated for by parliament two weeks ago”, Torsten Bell Director of the Resolution Foundation said: “This is welcome news … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Treasury will need to make biggest ever annual borrowing reduction to meet Budget surplus target 17 March 2016 TREASURY WILL NEED TO MAKE BIGGEST EVER ANNUAL BORROWING REDUCTION TO MEET BUDGET SURPLUS TARGET The Chancellor will need to reduce borrowing by £32bn in 2019-20 – the biggest ever annual cash consolidation – in order to meet his Budget surplus target by the end of the parliament, according to a new post-Budget briefing … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Treasury chooses to accept £38bn extra borrowing in face of economic headwinds 16 March 2016 OBR gives the Chancellor a £55bn fiscal black hole, double the £27bn windfall from the Autumn Statement The weaker outlook for productivity and pay has led the OBR to give George Osborne a £55bn fiscal hole, reversing twice over the £27bn fiscal windfall it gave him in the Autumn Statement. The Chancellor has rightly chosen … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Keeping the government’s tax cut commitments on track means the Chancellor finding £2bn over next two years 13 March 2016 The Chancellor will need to find £2bn over the next two years to keep the government’s income tax cut pledges on track – with a £300m down payment needed this April – and with 85 per cent of the windfall going to the richest half of households, new analysis from the Resolution Foundation will show. … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Pension tax reforms could boost middle earners’ pension pots by 20 per cent 10 March 2016 Substantial losses for high earners likely to be behind Chancellor’s pre-Budget postponement Radical pension reforms could significantly boost the pension savings of the majority of earners, but at the cost of substantial losses to high earners and major disruption to the industry. These costs are likely to have led to the Chancellor backing off … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Government must adopt a new “post crisis” approach to reach full employment 3 March 2016 2.4 million more Britons in work is the prize for a bold new focus on boosting participation and helping people stay in employment A radical new “post crisis” approach to employment is needed to help 2.4 million more people into work and make the government’s full employment target a reality, according to the final report … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Over five million more hours needed to tackle under-employment of current workers and bring more people into work 29 February 2016 Tackling under-employment holds the key to getting more people into work as it will free up part-time roles for new entrants, according to new analysis published ahead of a major Resolution Foundation investigation into securing full employment published later this week. The analysis will say that securing full employment – now a key government … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Full employment drive can help over a million more over 50s into work 27 February 2016 The government should target encouraging over one million more people over 50 into work by the end of the parliament as part of its full employment drive, the Resolution Foundation says today (Saturday) ahead of a major report into securing full employment. The call comes ahead of the final report next week of the … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Productivity boost key to success of National Living Wage 24 February 2016 Lack of knowledge of how to improve productivity may be a challenge, particularly among smaller firms The need to boost productivity in low-paying sectors and among small employers will be reinforced by the introduction of the new National Living Wage (NLW) in April, though there are huge uncertainties over how businesses can achieve this. This … Continued READ MORE
Housing Number of families in private rented sector has increased by almost a million in last decade 18 February 2016 The long-established decline in homeownership rates in England appeared to pause last year. However rates again fell among families with children, continuing a longer-term shift into the private rented sector, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to the 2014/15 English Housing Survey. The survey showed a welcome pause in the long-term decline … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Welcome jobs boost but pay growth looks set to remain subdued 17 February 2016 Employment growth continues to impress but a slowdown in productivity suggests that pay growth is set to remain subdued, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The employment rate reached another record high of 74.1 per cent, driven by increases in both full-time employee jobs and self-employment. … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Household incomes have finally surpassed previous peak 15 February 2016 by Matthew Whittaker and Adam Corlett and David Finch Pace of living standards recovery set to slow over this parliament, with many poorer households losing out altogether Typical household living standards have finally surpassed their previous peak levels but the pace of recovery is set to slow in the coming years, and many low-income households could lose out entirely, according to the Resolution Foundation’s … Continued READ MORE
Housing Owning a home set to become a pipe dream for young workers on modest incomes 13 February 2016 Over-45s now account for three-quarters of all home owners The housing ladder is disappearing for most young working households on modest incomes. For this group home ownership is projected to be approaching just one-in-ten by 2025, according to new analysis to be published next week by the independent Resolution Foundation think tank. While the biggest … Continued READ MORE
Housing Post-crash interest rate cuts have reduced annual mortgage costs by over £22bn 27 January 2016 Outlook for interest rates mean that a different response will be needed in the next downturn Cutting interest rates will have far less impact in the next downturn than the £22-4bn annual boost to households with mortgages they provided following the last one, according to a new report published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Scotland closes its ‘jobs gap’ as employment rate returns to pre-crisis high 20 January 2016 Welcome news comes 15 months after England’s jobs growth recovered Scotland today closed its ‘jobs gap’ as the employment rate surpassed its mid-2008 level for the first time to hit 74.9 per cent, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. While welcome, the closure of Scotland’s ‘jobs … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Jobs growth strengthening but pay recovery risks running out of steam 20 January 2016 Welcome news on jobs has seen employment hit a new record high, but real pay growth has fallen to its lowest level since February 2015, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The overall employment rate hit another record high (74 per cent), with strong growth … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Scotland on brink of finally closing its seven year long ‘jobs gap’ 20 January 2016 RF warns that stronger employment gains will be needed to boost future pay and living standards Scotland is just 9,000 jobs short of closing its post-crisis ‘jobs gap’ and returning to its mid-2008 employment rate, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) as it publishes a major new report on the Scottish labour market. This milestone … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Pay slowdown set to continue 18 January 2016 Risk that real pay could fall back below 2 per cent for first time since February 2015 Official figures published later this week are expected to show that average wages grew by 1.9-2 per cent in November, representing a further slowdown in the pace of Britain’s pay recovery, according to independent think tank the Resolution … Continued READ MORE
