Publication
2015 - The living standards election?
Date: 29 April 2013
The electorate is broadly split over whether, come the next general election, it will still be possible for the government of the day to ensure steadily rising living standards. This analysis, “2015- the living standards election?”, gives a unique insight into what voters think that politicians can – and can’t – promise to achieve at the next election.
Resolution Foundation analysis of the 2013 Budget
Date: 8 April 2013
Author: Vidhya Alakeson, Alex Hurrell & Matthew Whittaker
The Chancellor’s fourth Budget was a relatively quiet affair. While pre-announced changes mean that millions of households will face further reductions in benefit and tax credit receipts from April, the latest financial statement said nothing new about welfare cuts (though it confirmed that departmental spending is set to be tightened still further) and was instead more noticeable for some modest giveaways. Some are broad-based but small, from the latest increase in the income tax personal allowance to reductions in fuel and beer duties; others are more targeted, including a new scheme designed to boost homeownership and a new focus on childcare. In this note, we consider some of key announcements affecting households.
Will future tax cuts reach struggling working households
31 March 2013
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Will future tax cuts reach struggling working households?
Date: 2 April 2013
Author: Donald Hirsch
All political parties today say they want to help working people on low to middle incomes who struggle to make ends meet. This briefing looks at how exactly tax cuts interact with Universal Credit and quantifies how little low to middle income working households will keep from a higher personal allowance or a 10p tax rate under UC. It also suggests a simple way in which the Government could ensure that the benefits of tax cuts do flow through to the pockets of the three million taxpayers who claim UC. Any party proposing tax cuts that does not adopt this or an equivalent policy cannot claim to be targeting low to middle income households by cutting taxes.
Sizing the UK ‘Jobs Gap’
Date: 12 March 2013
Author: James Plunkett
The UK is more than 800,000 jobs short of the amount it would need to restore employment rates to those seen before the recession, a study from independent think tank the Resolution Foundation has found.
While the number of people in employment had climbed by 160,000 since 2008 to nearly 30 million, this positive news has masked the fact that the country’s adult population has grown faster over the same period – by 1.7 million.
Squeezed Britain 2013
Date: 13 February 2013
Author: Matthew Whittaker
We now know that the squeeze on living standards will be longer and deeper than projected this time last year. Average wages are not expected to rise in real terms until late 2014 after a period of stagnation and decline.
No Clear Benefit
Date: 30 January 2013
Author: Matthew Pennycook and Alex Hurrell
Low-income families will see their council tax bills rise by up to £600 a year from April.
As a result of council tax benefit reform, No Clear Benefit shows that three-quarters of local authorities are set to demand increased payments from the 3.2 million poorest working-age households who currently pay either no council tax or a reduced charge. Families are facing a hike of more than 330 per cent in the most severe cases.
Beyond the Bottom Line: The challenges and opportunities of a living wage
Date: 20 January 2013
Author: Matthew Pennycook and Kayte Lawton
Beyond the Bottom Line, a joint report from the Resolution Foundation and IPPR, presents the first full economic analysis of the living wage in the UK, including: modelling its potential impact on labour demand and considering the potential costs of living wages for employers; analysing which workers and families benefit most from the living wage; and quantifying the fiscal savings to government of wider living wage coverage.
The report sets out the key lessons that emerge from this analysis and makes recommendations for how campaigners, employers and the state can work together to ensure many more workers benefit from the living wage.
The squeezed middle: The pressure on ordinary workers in America and Britain
Date: 16 January 2013
Author: Sophia Parker
As wages stagnate but living costs keep rising, the pressure on working people grows more intense. The issue of living standards has become one of the most urgent challenges for politicians in both Britain and America. 'The squeezed middle' brings together experts from both sides of the Atlantic to ask what the UK can learn from the US.
The costs of childcare after housing costs
Date: 24 December 2012
Author: Vidhya Alakeson and Alex Hurrell
It is well known that the UK has some of the most expensive childcare in the OECD, accounting for a third of household income in some cases. New analysis published by the Resolution Foundation shows that the picture is even bleaker for families than we generally assume. The analysis looks at the costs of childcare after families have paid for housing which is a more accurate reflection of the disposable income they have to meet other costs of living, including childcare.
On borrowed time? Dealing with household debt in an era of stagnant incomes
Date: 23 December 2012
Author: Matthew Whittaker
On borrowed time? examines how and why household debt grew in the pre-crisis years, before turning to study the current scale and distribution of exposure to debt across households. Finally, the report looks at the link between household debt and prospects for economic growth, setting out a range of broad policy considerations that will frame our future work.
2012 2013 2020 activity rate Anna Vignoles April arrears Audit autumn statement balance benefit system benefits borrowing Britain budget budget 2011 budget response business case business impact cchpr child outcomes childcare Clive Cowdery Commission Commission on Living Standards conditionality cost of living wage council tax council tax benefit creditworthy david willetts Debt debt forgivenes debt target degree demographics discussion paper distribution donal hirsch earnings economic economy education election elizabeth washbrook emergency budget employment employment rate evidence expert group families family female employment finance financial advice financial capability financial health financial services financial services industry forbearance Gavin Kelly GDP gearing generation rent government Green Paper gregg growth growth without gain growth. niesr HM Treasury consultation holmes hourglass House of Commons House of Lords household debt household income Housing IFS in-work income inequality institutional investment interest rates international James Plunkett jane waldfogel jobs jobs gap John Van Reenen jonathan portes labour market labour share lane kenworthy lee savage letting agents Liam Wren-Lewis living standards living wage LMIs long-term care Louisa Darian low earner constituencies Low earners low earners audit low income low pay Low Pay Britain low pay threshold low to middle income low wages low-to-middle earners machin macro economic matthew pennycook Matthew Whittaker mayhew Mike Brewer minimum wage missing million missing out mobility mortgages mothers MPs mum netmums non-employment rate OECD older on your marks Parliamentary briefing part time Pensions Bill Pensions White Paper personal allowance peter williams plan c polarisation Policy Press polling population poverty pre-budget report private rented sector productivity projections property assets public sector deficit recession reform rent renting Resolution Foundation Resolution Foundation briefing response routine jobs sanctions sector share shelter skills social social care market social mobility social mobility foundation Sophia Parker squeezed Squeezed Britain Squeezed Middle submission survey sutton trust tax tax credits tax cuts tenure The squeezed middle think tank think-tank Thoresen Review Transact Treasury Select Committee unemployment Universal Credit Vidhya Alakeson wage bill wage share wages welfare reform welfare state White Paper who gains from growth women Work Work and Pensions Select Committee work incentives work-life workers workforce
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