The Bank of England upgraded its economic outlook for the UK in 2023 as it increased interest rates for the tenth successive time to 4 per cent, but also showed that the UK is in the midst of the weakest 20-year period of growth since 1938, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday). The Bank of … Continued

The cost-of-living crisis has left over two-in-five working age households struggling with or falling behind on their housing costs, compared to just over a quarter of households at the peak of the pandemic, according to new Resolution Foundation analysis published today (Saturday). The Foundation’s latest Housing Outlook uses data from a new YouGov survey of … Continued

TaskHer, the online booking platform helping homeowners book professional tradeswomen, today announced that it has raised £200k in a pre-seed funding round from a trio of UK impact investors. The investment from Bethnal Green Ventures, Resolution Foundation and Ufi Ventures will be used to develop the platform and to support and build the growing community … Continued

Social care workers have higher levels of job satisfaction and stronger job attachment than those in other low-paying sectors, but many have to contend with unsafe working conditions and unlawful under-payment of the minimum wage, according to new research published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The Foundation’s report Who cares?, supported by Unbound Philanthropy, … Continued

Recent glimmers of good economic news have yet to feed into the public finances, with borrowing in December around £4 billion higher than market expectations, and nearly £10 billion higher than OBR forecasts (due in partly to the treatment of student loans), the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS public … Continued

Inflation continued to ease towards the end of the year, but remained particularly high for low-income families who continue to fall on the wrong side of a large cost-of-living gap, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest ONS prices data. CPI inflation fell from 10.7 to 10.5 per cent in December. … Continued

A cooling labour market, with vacancies falling and youth unemployment rising to 9.8 per cent, suggest that further job losses could soon be on the way, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The UK labour market was tight in late 2022, prompting nominal private sector growth … Continued

Government incentives for savings are not fit for purpose, with around 750,000 low-and-middle income households having no savings at all, as rich individuals benefit from costly and unnecessary tax breaks, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Monday). The report ISA ISA Baby – published in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust – … Continued

Surprise economic growth in November means that the UK is unlikely to have fallen into recession last year. But this will be of cold comfort for many families who are still in the midst of a deep living standards downturn, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday) in response to the latest ONS GDP data. Surprising … Continued

Five poorly-justified tax reliefs, used by just 70,000 individuals, are costing other taxpayers £4 billion a year, according to new HMRC tax reliefs statistics published today (Thursday), and should be in the sights of the Chancellor as he approaches his Budget on 15 March, the Resolution Foundation says. The latest HMRC data shows that 105 … Continued

Typical household disposable incomes for working-age families are on track to fall by 3 per cent this financial year, and by 4 per cent next year, with the two-year cost-of-living squeeze set to leave families £2,100 worse off and only the very richest households seeing their incomes rise, according to new research published today (Monday) … Continued

Massive income and material deprivation gaps between people with disabilities and the rest of the population mean that disabled people are hugely exposed to the rising costs of essentials, with two-in-five unable to heat their homes this winter, and almost a third needing to cut back on food expenditure, according to new research published today … Continued

While 2023 may offer economic policy makers some relief, with signs inflation will ease and interest rates peak lower than feared, family finances face a ‘groundhog year’ repeat of 2022’s squeeze as the cost-of-living crisis deepens next year, according to the Resolution Foundation’s New Year Outlook published today (Friday). The Foundation says that 2022 has … Continued

Growing numbers of families with children will face effective tax rates of at least 80 per cent and up to 96 per cent next year, as two systems for supporting children (Universal Credit and Child Benefit) collide, according to new Resolution Foundation analysis published today (Wednesday). The separate systems for withdrawing Child Benefit (when one … Continued

Annual CPI inflation fell to 10.7 per cent in November – down from 11.1 per cent in October – its biggest fall since July 2021. But this fall will be of more comfort to policy makers than families, with price rises still massively outpacing pay rises, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday). Inflation fell last … Continued

England’s plans to insulate its housing stock must step up a gear by focusing on the most difficult barrier – nine million homes with ‘leaky walls’ – which poorer owners will simply be unable to address without more radical state support, according to new research published today (Monday) by the Resolution Foundation. Hitting a brick … Continued

Global economic trends that have been the principle driver of the inflation surge of the past 12 months – including high demand for goods from US consumers and trade disruption, as well as fast rising energy prices – have all started to ease in recent months and will put downward pressure on inflation over the … Continued

People choose to work part-time for a number of reasons, many of them positive, but lower living standards, limited progression, and underemployment are key areas for concern, with the concentration of low hours work among lower earners amounting to a ‘part-time work divide’ between rich and poor households, according to new research published today (Wednesday) … Continued

The Ofgem announcement today (Thursday) that the annual energy bill of a typical household would have risen to £4,279 between January and March 2023, were prices not capped by the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), means that supporting all households with energy bills over these three months will cost £16 billion, according to Resolution Foundation … Continued

The unique combination of the ending of Covid restrictions, coupled with bespoke schemes for Ukrainians, Afghans and Hong Kong residents, have seen net migration hit a record high of 504,000 in the 12 months to June 2022, despite net migration from the EU actually falling, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to the … Continued

The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement has piled further pressure on ‘the squeezed middle’, with personal tax rises announced during the parliament set to deliver a permanent 3.7 per cent income hit to typical households, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday) in its overnight analysis of the Autumn Statement 2022. Key findings from the Foundation’s overnight analysis … Continued

The Chancellor has responded to a grim economic outlook with renewed energy support next year and a backloaded fiscal tightening, combining huge stealth tax rises with far less concrete spending cuts, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday). The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts combine an energy shock driven recession – unemployment is set to … Continued

A jump in energy costs, despite the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), and rising food prices, which rose by 16.4 per cent (the biggest annual increase since 1977), pushed CPI inflation to 11.1 per cent in October, and 12.5 per cent for low-income households, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest ONS … Continued

Press release from the Resolution Foundation Tuesday 15th November 2022 – For immediate release   The UK’s tight labour market has seen the gap between public and private sector pay growth increase to its widest level ever outside of the pandemic period, and public sector vacancies reach a record high – posing delivery challenges to … Continued