Economy and public finances Autumn statement hits “strivers” as wage squeeze is prolonged 5 December 2012 The majority of cuts to benefit and tax credits announced in today’s Autumn Statement will fall on working households, warns independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. Resolution Foundation analysis shows that approximately 60 per cent of the effect of a three-year below-inflation rise in benefits will hit working households while 40 per cent will affect those … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Gains from growth to bypass much of working Britain without bold action 31 October 2012 LANDMARK REPORT: GAINS FROM GROWTH TO BYPASS MUCH OF WORKING BRITAIN WITHOUT BOLD ACTION Millions of households are heading for a long period of stagnant living standards unless bold steps are taken to ensure that growth over the next decade is broadly shared, according to a landmark investigation into the squeeze on incomes. Even with … Continued READ MORE
Welfare The cost of childcare means work often doesn’t pay for middle and lower income families 28 October 2012 High childcare costs mean that a woman working full-time could bring home as little as £4 a week in extra pay a new report from the Resolution Foundation shows. In the most extreme case, a second earner working full-time at the minimum wage in a family where her partner is already working full-time at the … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Study shows 1.2 million workers face threat to benefits under Universal Credit 5 October 2012 A study published today (5 October) by the Resolution Foundation finds that almost 1.2 million low-paid workers entitled to support under Universal Credit will have to look for extra work or face the risk of having payments withdrawn. The report reveals for the first time how many working people are likely to be affected by … Continued READ MORE
Labour market One in five workers on low pay as National Minimum Wage falls again in real terms 29 September 2012 One in five British workers – just over five million employees – are low-paid, finds a new report from the independent Resolution Foundation published as the national minimum wage falls in real terms for the third consecutive year. The report, Low Pay Britain 2012, shows that the nation’s share of low-paid work has grown steadily … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Living standards set for decade of decline unless Britain charts a new course 23 September 2012 Living standards for Britain’s low and middle income households will be lower in 2020 than they were a decade earlier even if growth returns, a new economic analysis suggests. Households in this group are set for income falls of between 3 and 15 per cent from 2008 to 2020. The study, carried out for independent … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Unemployment is dragging down wages more steeply than in previous recessions 19 September 2012 Typical workers have lost an extra £800 in annual pay over recent years because unemployment has begun to drive down wages much more strongly than had previously been observed, a new study for independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation has discovered. The study, What a Drag, shows that the relationship between pay and unemployment shifted during … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Stealth raid to cost families over £600 a year 11 September 2012 The government’s decision to change the way support for families keeps up with rising prices is going to cost the typical family with children £614 a year due to reductions in Child Benefit and Universal Credit payments, according to new research from independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. This stealth raid will hit those on … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Politicians just don’t get the financial pressures faced by ordinary families 30 August 2012 More than two people in five (43%), think most politicians don’t understand the financial pressures they face, according to new polling from independent think tank, the Resolution Foundation, with levels of dissatisfaction running highest among the middle aged (53% of 45 – 54 year olds). The poll, a quarterly tracker of household finances, carried out by … Continued READ MORE
Labour market UK risks missing golden opportunity among over 50s 8 August 2012 The UK could miss a historic opportunity to boost employment among the over 50s, according to new research from independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. The analysis finds that the UK ranks 15th out of 34 OECD countries, for older workers, lagging the five top countries for by over fifteen percentage points. Closing this gap … Continued READ MORE
Housing Olympic inspiration for new family housing 19 July 2012 The planned conversion of the Olympic Village to 1,400 high quality long-term private rental homes should serve as an inspirational model for how to tackle the UK’s housing crisis according to new research published today by independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. The report argues that with one low to middle income family in four … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Tax and benefit systems must do more to make work pay 17 July 2012 The current system of redistribution through taxation and welfare is inefficient and could be reformed to give more support to those on low and middle incomes according to a new report for the Resolution Foundation. The report, written by Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and drawing heavily on the Mirrlees Review … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Key Cameron ally calls for end to universal benefits for better-off pensioners 10 July 2012 Leading Tory moderniser, Nick Boles MP, calls for end to Winter Fuel Payments, free prescriptions, free bus travel and free TV licenses for better-off pensioners from 2015 to help ensure the government can do more to help working people achieve rising living standards in the future. In a major speech to the independent think tank, … Continued READ MORE
Welfare No evidence that tax credits surpress wages, says think tank 27 June 2012 There is no evidence that tax credits hold down low wages, according to new research published today by independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. The analysis discredits the assumption that tax credits, available to low and middle income families, enable employers to pay lower wages. Tax credits reach around six million families, providing substantial support … Continued READ MORE
Housing Stagnant economy will mean record numbers renting their homes 10 June 2012 Just one in four households will own with a mortgage by 2025 if the economy continues to stagnate, pushing record numbers into the private rented sector, new research says today. A new report commissioned by the Resolution Foundation and Shelter from Cambridge University looks at how the housing market will change if current economic … Continued READ MORE
Housing Lowest income households borrowed to spend in run up to crisis 15 May 2012 Low to middle income households were reliant on borrowing to fund much of their spending for more than a decade before the financial crisis, according to a new report for the independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. The report reveals the full extent of the increase in borrowing and deterioration in household savings rates in the … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Big business can afford to pay living wage 7 May 2012 Paying a living wage is affordable for big companies in UK banking, construction, computing and food production sectors, according to a new report jointly published by the think tanks Resolution Foundation and IPPR. The new analysis shows that the average increase in the wage bill for listed companies in these sectors would be about 1 … Continued READ MORE
Housing One in five people struggling to keep heads above water 22 April 2012 Almost one in five people (18%) are finding it increasingly hard to afford essentials such as food and energy bills, according to new polling from independent think tank, Resolution Foundation. With the recovery remaining highly fragile and new cuts to tax credits starting to bite, the number of those expecting their financial situation to get worse … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Minimum wage now lower than eight years ago 17 April 2012 The national minimum wage has reduced wage inequality but without damaging employment, according to a new report for the independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. The news comes in light of this year’s just announced 11p increase from £6.08 an hour to £6.19, with the rate frozen for young people. This is the third successive … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Black Friday as Chancellor wields cuts to tax credits 5 April 2012 Thousands of low income working families will lose up to a quarter of their household income from this Friday, the start of the new tax year, as major cuts to tax credits start to bite. In particular, low to middle income couples working less than 24 hours will no longer be eligible for working tax … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Resolution Foundation 2012 Budget Reaction 21 March 2012 ANALYSIS The further increase to the personal tax allowance to £9,205 in April 2013 will benefit all basic rate tax payers by on average £220 a year, worth £170 after inflation. Our first priority to target gains more directly on low to middle income households would have been to reverse £1.6bn of cuts to working … Continued READ MORE
Labour market We’re all managers now 2 March 2012 Job title inflation has been a growing phenomenon in recent years, with an increasing proportion of people with senior sounding job titles still earning middle-ranking wages, according to new research published today for the independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. The research finds that the proportion of managers in the retail sector earning below £400 … Continued READ MORE
Welfare The high price of motherhood 9 February 2012 British women are paying a shockingly high price for motherhood as they are forced into lower-skilled, part-time work after having children, according to the findings of a new survey by Netmums and independent think tank, Resolution Foundation. The poll of over 1,600 part-time working mothers revealed almost half (48%) of mothers on low to middle … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Political battle for the squeezed middle escalates 23 January 2012 The squeezed middle remain the key political battleground, facing a new tax credits squeeze on top of a continued fall in real wages, a growing chance of a lifetime renting, increasingly precarious household finances and incomes unlikely to rise beyond their pre-recession (2007) levels even by 2020, according to a new report from independent think … Continued READ MORE
Housing Households preparing for the worst as they batten down the hatches 22 January 2012 With growing pessimism about the state of their household finances, a third of Britons plan to cut back their spending this year, a significant rise from in October. More also say they are now saving and planning to pay down their debt, according to new polling from independent think tank, the Resolution Foundation. The poll is … Continued READ MORE
