Living standards· Incomes· Inequality & poverty Moving on up? Social mobility in the 1990s and 2000s 11 March 2011 by Lee Savage There is a general view that social mobility in Britain declined in the second half of the twentieth century, that Britain is no longer a meritocratic country where a person’s life chances are determined by effort and talent rather than by family background. Declining social mobility has been a concern for successive governments and the … Continued READ MORE
Housing Meeting the housing needs of low-to-middle earners 9 March 2011 by Louisa Darian Increasingly shut out of home ownership and social housing, low-to-middle earners are becoming more reliant on the private rental sector to provide an affordable, long-term home. In order to help address this Resolution Foundation is working on a project to develop a model to support institutional investment in family friendly, affordable, build-to-let accommodation with longer … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Tackling the adequacy trap: earnings, incomes and work incentives under the Universal Credit 16 February 2011 by Donald Hirsch and Jacqueline Beckhelling This briefing explores the relationship between gross earnings and net incomes at various points in the bottom half of the income distribution, under both the current tax and benefit system and the future Universal Credit model. It considers how these alternative systems relate to poverty and adequate income levels and concludes with some general observations … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Incomes· Inequality & poverty Locating the middle 22 December 2010 by Matthew Whittaker There has been a lot of recent debate about what is middle income – but the range of ‘middles’ that can be derived from earnings and income data is potentially confusing. This briefing note attempts to provide some clarity, by detailing the relative merits and drawbacks of different approaches and sets out how a wide … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Incomes· Inequality & poverty Squeezed Britain: low-to-middle earners audit 2010 25 November 2010 by Matthew Whittaker At the heart of the Foundation’s mission is the identification and analysis of challenges faced by households that find it difficult to flourish in the market economy, while consistently falling on the wrong side of eligibility for state support. Squeezed Britain represents our annual in-depth study of these issues. Original analyses of a number of large-scale … Continued READ MORE
Housing· Welfare Submission: memorandum to the Work and Pensions Select Committee on the impact of the changes to Housing Benefit announced in the June 2010 Budget 6 September 2010 by Louisa Darian This memorandum to the Work and Pensions Select Committee summarises the current position of low earners in the housing market and draws upon the Foundation’s recent research into low earners’ experiences of the private rented sector to highlight a number of potential implications of the Government’s announcements. READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public spending· Economy and public finances 2010 Emergency Budget and low earners 29 June 2010 by Matthew Whittaker We acknowledged that the emergency Budget published on 22 June was only ever going to provide part of the story: the details of where spending cuts will fall will not be made clear until the publication of the Spending Review on 20 October. Nevertheless, by setting out the Government’s proposed consolidation path, along with the … Continued READ MORE
Public spending· Economy and public finances What’s the Damage? A low earner impact assessment of deficit reduction options 18 June 2010 by Matthew Whittaker As the government embarks on cutting the public sector deficit, this report considers the options available and the impact they could have on the UK’s 7.2 million low earning households. READ MORE
Low pay· Labour market· Pay Low earners snapshot for new and returning MPs 24 May 2010 by Cara Brown This briefing gives a snapshot of low earners in the UK. It was sent to new and returning MPs in constituencies with a high proportion of low income households. READ MORE
Housing Submission: Resolution Foundation response to HMT consultation, ‘Investment in the UK private rented sector’ 28 April 2010 by Louisa Darian This briefing sets out our response to Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) consultation on addressing barriers to investment in the private rented sector (PRS). It explains that we welcome the consultation: the PRS which has, until recently, received little attention from the policy or research world, plays an important role in particular for low earning households, who are … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Submission: the Energy and Climate Change Committee publish report on ‘fuel poverty’ 30 March 2010 by Cara Brown This memorandum to the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee on fuel poverty focuses on the definition of households in fuel poverty commonly used: we make the case that more attention needs to be given to low earners with respect to fuel poverty. READ MORE
Low pay· Labour market· Pay An open memo to the next government: improving outcomes for low earners 22 March 2010 by Sophia Parker This memo sets out five priorities and proposes some long-term goals as well as immediate action we would like the new Government to take. READ MORE
Living standards· Incomes· Inequality & poverty· Housing Behind the Balance Sheet: the financial health of low income households 22 March 2010 by Sophia Parker Published alongside our most recent Low Earners Audit this report summarises current statistical data relating to the financial health of low earning households, and complements this with new qualitative data to give a fuller and more accurate picture of financial health. READ MORE
Social care· Wealth & assets· Housing Home Equity: accumulation and decumulation through the life cycle 1 March 2010 by Peter Williams This report was commissioned by the Resolution Foundation to inform our work on long-term care funding reform. Many low earners lose out in the current care and support system and find themselves in a funding gap; too rich to qualify for state support, having over the threshold of £23,000 of equity in their house, and … Continued READ MORE
Social care Funding Future Care Need: the role of councils in supporting individuals to access the capital in their homes 1 March 2010 This is the latest report in the Foundation’s work to improve outcomes in the long-term care system for low earners. Many low earners lose out in the current care and support system and find themselves in a funding gap; too rich to qualify for state support, having over the threshold of £23,000 of equity in … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public spending· Economy and public finances Analysis of the 2009 pre-budget report 11 December 2009 by Matthew Whittaker This analysis reflects on policy measures set out in the Pre-Budget Report (PBR) 2009 from the perspective of low earners. The PBR acknowledges that any economic recovery in the UK remains a fragile one. It therefore retains the focus of both PBR 2008 and Budget 2009 in providing targeted and time-limited support for those suffering … Continued READ MORE
Social care Submission: Resolution Foundation written response to Shaping the Future of Care Together Green Paper 23 November 2009 by Sophia Parker This response to the social care Green Paper Shaping the Future Care Together welcomes the broad thrust of the Green Paper. We believe the shift towards seeing care as a universal entitlement rather than a safety net will vastly improve the experience of many low earners who often find themselves squeezed by the current system. READ MORE
Labour market· Pay Closer to crisis? How low earners are coping in the recession 11 November 2009 by Sophia Parker Closer to Crisis? analyses how the economic downturn is affecting low earners and considers what more can be done to enable low earners to stay in work, in their homes and to maintain their fragile economic independence as the recession plays out. READ MORE
Wealth & assets Financial inclusion and financial capability explained 1 August 2009 by Helen Aynsley Financial services play a key role in most people’s lives. This makes the ability to make sound financial decisions an essential life skill, one that enables people to manage their day-to-day expenditure, cope with unforeseen emergencies and plan for their retirement. Such skills are becoming even more important as the financial services market becomes more … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets Financial health 29 July 2009 This briefing outlines the Foundation’s recent research into the financial health of low earners and sets out our current work program. The Resolution Foundation has undertaken research into how low earners access financial services, focusing in particular on how to meet their financial advice needs. We produced a proposal for a national generic financial advice … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets Submission: Resolution Foundation Response to HM Treasury consultation on Reforming Financial Markets 1 July 2009 The Foundation welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Reforming Financial Markets White Paper. To reflect the focus of our work, this memorandum comments on a number of issues in chapter 8 – Supporting and Protecting Consumers – and specifically addresses consultation questions 15 to 21. READ MORE
Social care Facilitating Increases in Long-Term Care Funding 1 December 2008 This report examines long-term care funding from the perspective of low earners. It considers the appropriateness of a variety of options for accumulating low earners and decumulating low earners, stressing the need for immediate corrective action alongside a long-term national funding settlement. READ MORE
Social care Innovation and Efficiency in Long-Term Care 1 December 2008 This report identifies the factors which hinder care providers from carrying out strategic innovation to deliver personalised and cost effective care services. We also outline a number of options to overcome obstacles to innovation and to positively create a market environment which fosters innovative practice. READ MORE
Social care Navigating Care 1 December 2008 Older people and families often find the care system very hard to navigate due to its complexity and their low awareness of, and difficulty in, accessing information and advice. This paper identifies what older people and their families need to navigate the care system, and how they would prefer to receive this help. READ MORE
Social care Navigating the Way: the future care and well-being of older people 1 December 2008 As part of the Foundation’s efforts to improve long-term care for older people, Navigating the Way demonstrates how reforming the social care market is essential before future levels of state funding can be determined. READ MORE
