Analysis and action on living standards
This make-or-break Budget is set to include significant spending cuts and tax rises spurred by a significant deterioration in the public finances. So, in this briefing note we discuss how the outlook has changed since the Spring Statement and set out how the Chancellor should respond.
This report is part of the project Safety Nets: social security for families in a devolved UK, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. It examines the growth of localised social security in the UK from 2013, focusing on how responsibilities for discretionary support and Council Tax Reduction (CTR) have shifted from the UK government to local authorities. Localised support makes up only a small share of overall social security spending, but it has expanded significantly, driven first by the 2013 localism reforms and later by the Covid-19 pandemic. The report evaluates when local delivery works well, where it falls short, and what principles should guide any future reform.
The Resolution Foundation is an independent think-tank dedicated to lifting living standards in the UK. We focus particularly on households with low and middle incomes; those on low pay or in precarious work; and those vulnerable to financial shocks.
The Budget run-in has centred around what taxes the Chancellor will need to raise to meet her fiscal rules. But housing could potentially play an equally decisive role. Watch our event discussion on how housing should feature in the Budget.
The Government’s long-awaited Child Poverty Strategy is due next month, close to, or contemporaneous with, the Autumn Budget. Using the latest economic data, our modelling shows that if the Government wants child poverty to fall it has no choice but to place income support at the heart of an “ambitious” Child Poverty Strategy.
The Resolution Foundation calculates the real Living Wage – a voluntary hourly pay rate that is based on what families need to get by. The current national rate is:
Explore our interactive housing indicators or read about our alternative estimate of UK employment.
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