Coronavirus· Universal Credit· Welfare The UK should not weaken safety nets mid-storm As more workers are laid-off this autumn, the grim reality of meagre support will become clear 11 August 2020 by Gavin Kelly Resisting pressure to spend more on disadvantaged groups is seen as part of the job by battle-hardened officials in the UK Treasury. But stripping away benefit increases that have only just been introduced is rather different and doing so in the midst of an economic collapse would, to put it mildly, be something extraordinary. Yet … Continued READ MORE
Coronavirus· Universal Credit Any further questions? From The safety net in action? Universal Credit’s role in the crisis and the recovery 28 May 2020 by Mike Brewer and Karl Handscomb We often have more questions submitted for our event Q&A sessions than we’re able to answer. Where this is the case, we’ll endeavour to respond to a selection of the most interesting or most representative questions that went unanswered. The questions below were submitted to our panel for the event The safety net in action? … Continued READ MORE
Coronavirus· Living standards· Incomes· Jobs· Labour market· Welfare Key take-aways from the Chancellor’s package of measures to support workers in the coronavirus crisis 22 March 2020 by Mike Brewer and Laura Gardiner The Chancellor’s announcements on Friday 20 March were unprecedented in their scale and reach, and absolutely vital for supporting firms and family incomes in the face of the current crisis. Here are five key take-aways on how these changes will affect families, and three next steps for the Government to consider. 1. At a … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Welfare Coronavirus and the benefits system: What support is available? 9 March 2020 by Karl Handscomb With the continuing increase in coronavirus cases, much of the current debate has rightly focused on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). The Government’s announcement to extend SSP to day one of absence is welcome, but low earners and the self-employed are not entitled to SSP. This poses a challenge for protecting family incomes from the spread … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Social care· Universal Credit· Inequality & poverty· Welfare The child poverty crisis needs pushing up the agenda in Britain’s ‘Brexit’ election None of the main party manifestos will end child poverty 27 November 2019 by Laura Gardiner Both the main parties have learnt lessons from the 2017 election. The Conservatives have learnt not to scare the horses with big new policies. Their 2019 manifesto is very much a ‘safety-first’ document. Labour learnt that they have a problem with pensioners – 70-year olds are twice as likely to vote Tory as Labour – … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Universal Credit· Childcare· Scotland· Welfare A welcome boost for ‘just about managing’ families in Scotland 27 June 2019 by Adam Corlett Yesterday started with a bleak assessment by the Child Poverty Action Group of the impact of ongoing welfare cuts – specifically how the two-child limit on support, which began to be implemented in 2017, is set to push 300,000 children into poverty. But there was better news for Scottish parents later in the day, as … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Childcare· Welfare CB40: Happy 40th birthday to child benefit! But will it last another twenty? 2 April 2019 by Adam Corlett Yesterday, the minimum wage celebrated its 20th birthday. Today, child benefit is having a 40th birthday bash. But, as this analysis shows, it’s become a somewhat modest affair, with (record) low generosity, fewer people invited than in earlier years, and particularly complicated arrangements. So today is a good time to step back and take stock … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Job quality and security· Childcare· Welfare How big is the gender parenting gap, and is it improving? 8 March 2019 by Adam Corlett A lot has been written about the gender pay gap, with the typical hourly pay of women in full-time work 9 per cent below that of men – down from 17 per cent two decades ago. But there is another gap lying behind the gender pay gap that gets far less attention, despite being just … Continued READ MORE
Universal Credit· Welfare Boosting benefit take-up is critical to the success of Universal Credit, but we might not be able to measure whether it’s working 20 December 2018 by George Bangham and Adam Corlett Benefit take-up rates matter. A lot. If households aren’t actually receiving the benefits that government policy entitles them to, their incomes will be lower and the social safety net will not work as intended. The government’s own estimates of benefits take-up suggest that billions of pounds worth of benefits probably go unclaimed each year. Take-up … Continued READ MORE
Universal Credit· Welfare Three steps to make it a happier new year for Universal Credit 18 December 2018 by Laura Gardiner Universal Credit (UC) was a surprise contender for one of the big stories of the Budget, with the Chancellor announcing a welcome reinjection of cash into the system. UC has (finally) hit another important milestone too – as of December 2018, it is on offer to all new claimants of working-age benefits in jobcentres across … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Welfare Despite ‘the end of austerity’, April promises another deep benefit cut 17 October 2018 by Adam Corlett Today we learned just how deep the benefits freeze will be in its fourth and final year. In July 2015, having promised £12 billion of welfare cuts – reportedly on the assumption that the Liberal Democrats would argue this down – George Osborne announced exactly that. Chief among these cuts was a further working age … Continued READ MORE
Universal Credit· Welfare Delaying rollout of Universal Credit is a sensible step – but fundamental reforms are still needed 16 October 2018 by David Finch Today we learnt that the government is preparing a package of measures for Universal Credit (UC) ahead of the upcoming Budget – but what are they changing and what difference might it make? The first thing to understand is that these changes aren’t about the fundamentals of either the generosity or operation of Universal Credit … Continued READ MORE
Universal Credit· Welfare Universal Credit: the honesty we owe and the changes we need 12 October 2018 by Torsten Bell and Resolution Foundation Analysis All is not well in the land of Universal Credit (UC). Cabinet ministers are angsting in private about the challenges of rolling out this government’s single biggest domestic policy reform. Two ex-Prime Ministers are worrying in public that the benefit risks becoming a new poll tax. And Labour has (rhetorically at least) promised to scrap … Continued READ MORE
Inequality & poverty· Childcare· Welfare A history lesson wouldn’t hurt – at least when it comes to child poverty 24 July 2018 by Torsten Bell and Adam Corlett This blog originally appeared on Times Red Box. A few years back there was an outbreak of national angst about no one studying history any more. The House of Lords even managed a debate on it. That worry seems a long way down the list of concerns these days, when everyone has the latest Donald … Continued READ MORE
Universal Credit· Welfare With the benefits of benefit reform diminishing, Universal Credit needs a new direction 11 June 2018 by David Finch Another busy period of Brexit debate has pushed other big domestic issues out of the headlines. This is particularly true of Universal Credit (UC) – where two key government publications last week have slipped under the radar. In the coming year we can expect the profile of UC to rise again, with the pace of … Continued READ MORE
Universal Credit· Welfare 10 policies if you think you might want a Universal Basic Income but aren’t sure 30 April 2018 by Adam Corlett Universal Basic Income (UBI) is the policy idea du jour, especially among Labour, Lib Dem, SNP and Green members. But those three words by themselves are not a policy. The concept draws support for a range of different – and sometimes contradictory – reasons, and a UBI could be designed in countless ways with vastly … Continued READ MORE
Pensions & savings· Wealth & assets· Welfare· Intergenerational Centre Now’s not the time for auto-pilot 6 April 2018 by Matthew Whittaker and Stephen Clarke Straightforward policy successes are a rare achievement in government and need celebrating when they arrive, lest we forget that policy matters. The recent sizeable gains the UK has made on private pension saving as a result of the introduction of auto-enrolment are therefore a clear cause for cheer. But challenges remain, starting with the increase … Continued READ MORE
Social care· Wealth & assets· Welfare· Intergenerational Centre Baby boomers are going to have to pay more tax on their wealth to fund health and social care 5 March 2018 by David Willetts In the past decade a new issue has entered British politics – fairness between the generations. It straddles the conventional political divide. The Prime Minister has spoken of “a growing divide between a more prosperous older generation and a struggling younger generation”. And the leader of the Labour Party has argued that future generations should … Continued READ MORE
Tax· Welfare· Intergenerational Centre To maintain our welfare state we need to rethink how we pay for it 5 February 2018 by Torsten Bell Social democracy gave 20th Century Britain the welfare state. But in the 21st Century it’s wandered off for a long post-crisis snooze, just at the time when big challenges to that welfare state are looming into view. It’s time it woke up because, for a new generation of social democrats, there is work to do. … Continued READ MORE
Universal Credit· Welfare Five big calls on Universal Credit for the new Work and Pensions Secretary 11 January 2018 by David Finch A new year brings with it a new Work and Pensions Secretary, with Esther McVey the fourth incumbent since Iain Duncan Smith stepped down in January 2016. For a department in the midst of rolling-out Universal Credit (UC), a radical reform of social security, change at the top brings both opportunity and risk. UC delivery … Continued READ MORE
Universal Credit· Welfare Time to make Universal Credit fit for purpose in 21st century Britain 31 October 2017 by David Finch The pace of the roll-out of Universal Credit (UC) has quickened in recent months – and so too have the complaints and reputational hit that the reform is taking. Much of the focus has been on the six week wait before new claimants moving out of work receive their first payment, which is the result … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Welfare Let it go Chancellor. Why Philip Hammond should revisit the benefit freeze in next month’s Budget 15 October 2017 by David Finch The weather might be un-seasonally warm just now, but millions of household budgets are in the grip of a four-year freeze that’s about to get colder still. For decades, the government’s default position has been to uprate the value of working-age benefits each April in line with the rate of inflation prevailing in the previous … Continued READ MORE
Childcare· Welfare A hat-trick of childcare policies are being rolled out this Autumn. But is the current approach an expensive own goal? 28 September 2017 by David Finch Childcare support is all the rage. As well as being the focus of one of the key policy announcements at Labour Conference this week, the government is rolling out not one but three new policies this Autumn. Even in these austere times, the government is spending £2bn on the introduction of Tax Free Childcare and … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Prices & consumption· Inequality & poverty· Welfare The living standards issue that’s bigger than Brexit for lower income households 9 September 2017 by Matthew Whittaker Love it or loathe it, the long shadow of Brexit is set to dominate our political weather for some considerable time to come. With good reason of course. The long-term impact remains uncertain, but we can be sure it will be significant. And in the near-term, there’s no denying that the referendum result is at … Continued READ MORE
Universal Credit· Welfare It’s crunch time for Universal Credit – and big changes are needed 7 July 2017 by David Finch Calls for an end to austerity have dominated the media in recent days with the focus largely on removing the public sector pay cap. But from a living standards perspective, ongoing ‘austerity’ via cuts in Universal Credit (UC) will make a much bigger difference to those families affected. The roll-out of UC, which is set … Continued READ MORE
