The UK Government will struggle to achieve an 80 per cent employment rate unless it further incentivises firms to employ disabled workers – via return-to-work recruitment incentives and a new Right to Reintegration – according to new research published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report Opening Doors notes that while the headline employment … Continued

The new Pensions Commission should complete the achievements of the original Pensions Commission by both boosting future generations’ living standards in retirement and taking on the equally pressing ‘rainy day’ savings challenge people face today, the Resolution Foundation said today (Monday). The original Pensions Commission, which reported back in November 2005, has already transformed living … Continued

The UK jobs market continues to weaken, with the number of payrolled jobs having fallen by 143,000 since last October, while RF analysis suggests the employment rate has been falling for two years, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday). The number of people in payrolled employment fell by 75,000 in the three months to May, … Continued

Rising levels of disability and unpaid care are concentrated in the poorer half of Britain, and action is needed to both level up the value of unpaid care and reduce the £3,300 income penalty these families face, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Tuesday). Don’t forget about us – the fifth report of … Continued

Growth in private rents continued its recent slowdown, with rents rising by 6.7 per cent in the year to June 2025, down from 7 per cent seen in the year to May. However, rents have still grown far faster than wages over the past three years and created an affordability wedge for renters as a … Continued

CPI inflation exceeded expectations to reach an eighteen-month high of 3.6 per cent in June – 0.2 percentage points higher than expected – while forecasts from the Bank of England have inflation rising further in the autumn, continuing to weigh down on lower-income households struggling to cope with higher prices, according to the Resolution Foundation … Continued

A record 128,000 households are living in temporary accommodation in England, an increase of 160 per cent since 2010, as support for lower-income families through social housing and the benefit system continues to decline, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Friday). With the creation of decent affordable homes being one of the Government’s … Continued

The Employment Rights Bill making its way through Parliament is a big deal for low-paid workers, but will have a negligible impact on the economy, contrary to what its supporters and critics claim, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Thursday). With the share of (hourly) low paid workers across Britain having fallen from … Continued

Rising energy prices over the last two decades have squeezed incomes for low-and-middle income families and contributed to a ‘comfort crunch’ as more of their budgets are spent on household essentials, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Monday). The Bare Necessities – the fourth report of the Foundation’s Unsung Britain project, with support … Continued

The changes to the Welfare Bill set out today will create a two-tier system to prevent existing claimants from suffering income losses as a result of changes to Universal Credit (UC) and Personal Independent Payments (PIP). These changes are welcome, but could cost between £2.6 billion and £3.2 billion a year in 2029-30 – making … Continued

The outlook for living standards across Britain is bleak, with typical incomes on track to grow by just 1 per cent (£300) over the second half of the decade. But a fair economic tailwind and the right policy interventions can transform this outlook – turning a period of falling incomes for poorer families into one … Continued

Moving away from the Ofgem fixed price cap and towards a flexible system of energy pricing – where costs vary according to region and time of day – could reduce the price of electricity by 4p/kWh by 2040, offering households savings of £200 a year, on average. But this approach also means families taking on … Continued

Industrial Strategy White Paper demonstrates serious thinking about growth – but it will need sticking power to deliver growth The Industrial Strategy White Paper, published today (Monday), is a serious attempt to think about long-term economic strategy, and is both cross-departmental and backed by the Treasury, all of which will be needed if it is … Continued

England’s stark regional wage inequalities are driven by the places where people work, and not just by the people who work in different places as earlier studies have suggested, which should prompt a rethink about how policy makers can address these divides, according to ground-breaking new research published today (Monday) by the Resolution Foundation. The … Continued

While CPI inflation remained unchanged at a corrected rate of 3.4 per cent in May, recent increases in energy prices arising from conflict in the Middle East mean renewed price pressures are set to hit struggling low-income households in the coming months, according to the Resolution Foundation today (Wednesday). The headline rate of CPI inflation … Continued

The British state is slowly turning into a National Health State, with half of all public-service spending set to allocated to health and social care by the end of the decade, according to the Resolution Foundation’s overnight analysis of Spending Review 2025. Key findings from the overnight analysis, which show that the other big winners … Continued

The NHS has again grabbed the lion’s share (90 per cent) of the extra funding for day-to-day public services allocated at the Spending Review, with inflation-adjusted per-person spending flat or falling for most other departments, leaving little to rebuild other public services, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday). After two fiscal events dominated by tax … Continued

The jobs market weakened further in April, losing 55,000 jobs on the previous month and nudging down the employment rate, the Resolution Foundation said today in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. Early data for May looks worse still, pointing to a fall of 109,000 jobs – but this data is prone to … Continued

Commenting on the Government plan announced today (Monday) to means-test Winter Fuel Payments (WFPs) from this winter with a threshold of £35,000, Alex Clegg, Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The new scheme for means-testing Winter Fuel Payments means that that the number of pensioners receiving support will rise from 1.3 million last winter to … Continued

The Government has increased departmental spending by almost £400 billion since it came to power, with details of future plans to be set out in the Spending Review next Wednesday.  But pressures to increase health and defence spending will make it hard to avoid cuts to other public services, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday). … Continued

The Household Support Fund has helped millions of families in England with their food, energy and water bills, and household essentials since its introduction in 2021, but its effectiveness has been hampered by chaotic and declining funding which needs to be put on a firmer footing, according to new research published today (Thursday). The report, … Continued

The Government’s U-turn on Winter Fuel Payments (WFPs) can take a number of possible routes. But action to assuage pensioner anger cannot be used as an excuse to duck sensible changes to its health and disability benefit reforms, or limit its ambition on tackling child poverty, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday). At Prime Minister’s … Continued

CPI inflation increased sharply in April – rising to 3.5 per cent up from 2.6 per cent in March – mostly driven by rises in energy and water bills and exceeding expectations of markets and the Bank of England. While painful, this higher level of inflation does not represent a return to peak cost of … Continued

The Government’s plans to reform health and disability related benefits and increase employment support could boost employment by up to 105,000 by the end of the Parliament. But these welcome gains are not enough to prevent the reforms from pushing hundreds of thousands of families into poverty, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today … Continued

The UK economy made a stronger than expected start to 2025, with GDP growing by 0.7 per cent in Q1. But recent history, more recent data, and wider global uncertainty, all suggest that Britain’s growth rebound is unlikely to last, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday). GDP grew by 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, … Continued