The high price of motherhood

9th February 2012 | File type: PDF | Size 275.4 KB

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 incomes take a lower-skilled part time job on their return to work after having children – but so did more than a third (36%) of those on higher incomes. Even those mothers that held a degree could not find work which paid a salary commensurate with their skills: 42% of degree holders said they had taken a less skilled job because of working part time.

Political battle for the squeezed middle escalates

23rd January 2012 | File type: PDF | Size 176.1 KB

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 tank the Resolution Foundation. MPs Liam Byrne and David Laws will respond to the findings at the launch event today and Nick Clegg will give a keynote speech on Thursday.

Households preparing for the worst as they batten down the hatches

22nd January 2012 | File type: PDF | Size 207.9 KB

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 the third in a new quarterly tracker of household finances, carried out by respected polling firm Ipsos MORI.

Rising prices of essential goods wipe out gains in living standards

27th December 2011 | File type: PDF | Size 402.2 KB

New analysis shows that the rising cost of essentials had already wiped out most of the gains in living standards made in the early 2000s by families on low and modest incomes, even before the recession began. The new report, for independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation, shows that increases in the price of food, fuel and other basics have greatly outstripped general inflation in recent years.

Children in low to middle income families start school 5 months behind

13th December 2011 | File type: PDF | Size 477.3 KB

Children in low to middle income families are already behind their most affluent peers when they start school, because of their upbringing - according to a major new study for the independent think tank, the Resolution Foundation.

The study of over 15,000 five year olds, carried out by child development experts Jane Waldfogel and Elizabeth Washbrook, found that children from low to middle income families were 5 months behind on vocabulary skills when they began school and exhibited more behavioural problems, compared to children in higher income families.

Tenants ripped off by letting agents

8th December 2011 | File type: PDF | Size 351.7 KB

Tenants are being let down by an unregulated lettings market, with significant upfront costs, variable fees and a lack of transparency around charges, according to a new report published today by independent think tank, the Resolution Foundation.

Working women key to rising living standards

6th December 2011 | File type: PDF | Size 340.3 KB

The rise of working women has been a critical factor in raising the living standards of low to middle income households in the last 40 years, according to new research carried out by the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies for the Resolution Foundation.

Autumn statement deepens squeeze on low and middle income families

29th November 2011 | File type: PDF | Size 272.9 KB

Today’s announcement of cuts to tax credits hit low to middle income families hard and is straightforwardly regressive, analysis from the Resolution Foundation shows. Scrapping the planned increases in Child Tax Credit and freezing more elements of the Working Tax Credit takes money from those who can least afford it, with more than three-quarters of the £1.2bn savings planned for 2012 coming from the bottom half of the income distribution.