Commenting on the findings published today (Wednesday) in the Bank of England’s Agents’ Summary of Business Conditions report, Matt Whittaker, Chief Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Concerns raised by firms in today’s report underlines the big challenge Brexit poses for the services sector, which is being hit by a loss of confidence without … Continued

  Government, rather than Bank of England, policy holds the key to reducing lasting Brexit hit  The Bank’s ‘monetary sledgehammer’ should help to restore business and consumer confidence in the wake of the referendum vote but government decisions on trade and industrial policy are key to determining the lasting effect of Brexit on economic growth … Continued

Responding to the Chancellor’s announcement today that he has abandoned his Budget surplus target for 2020, Matt Whittaker, Chief Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “It’s welcome – though not surprising – that the Chancellor has explicitly acknowledged that it would be wrong to pursue a surplus in the face of any post-Brexit deterioration in … Continued

  TREASURY WILL NEED TO MAKE BIGGEST EVER ANNUAL BORROWING REDUCTION TO MEET BUDGET SURPLUS TARGET The Chancellor will need to reduce borrowing by £32bn in 2019-20 – the biggest ever annual cash consolidation – in order to meet his Budget surplus target by the end of the parliament, according to a new post-Budget briefing … Continued

OBR gives the Chancellor a £55bn fiscal black hole, double the £27bn windfall from the Autumn Statement The weaker outlook for productivity and pay has led the OBR to give George Osborne a £55bn fiscal hole, reversing twice over the £27bn fiscal windfall it gave him in the Autumn Statement. The Chancellor has rightly chosen … Continued

The Chancellor will need to find £2bn over the next two years to keep the government’s income tax cut pledges on track – with a £300m down payment needed this April – and with 85 per cent of the windfall going to the richest half of households, new analysis from the Resolution Foundation will show. … Continued

Share of spending on education and economic development set to fall to its lowest level on record The share of state spending on old age and health is set to be more than twice that allocated to education and economic development combined by the end of the parliament – up from only 50% more pre-crisis … Continued

Sharp increase in working poverty despite welcome pay boost from the ‘National Living Wage’ The number of poor working households will rise by up to an additional 200,000 over the course of the parliament as a result of policies announced in the Summer Budget, according to a report published today (Thursday) by the independent think-tank … Continued

Living standards are higher or lower depending on the measure used; a welcome abolition of the ‘poll tax’ on self-employed; and rise in personal allowance poorly targeted The difference between the parties’ fiscal targets has narrowed – but could still be as much as £31bn by the end of the parliament – the independent think-think … Continued

Press release from the Resolution Foundation Wednesday 3 December – For immediate release OVER £20BN OF FISCAL TIGHTENING NEEDED FROM 2016 TO MEET COALITION FISCAL TARGET Resolution Foundation calls on parties to set out what their fiscal plans mean for taxation, welfare spending and the future shape of public services Deeper spending cuts, tax rises … Continued

The UK’s main political parties are yet to provide voters with adequate detail to assess the far reaching implications of their deficit reduction plans for the next parliament, according to a new report published today (Tuesday) by the independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. With the coalition government expected to have delivered around half of its … Continued

More blame Labour than other parties – but Labour has the edge in 7 of 8 key policy areas affecting living standards All the main parties share the blame for the fall in living standards over recent years although slightly more people hold Labour most responsible, shows a new poll from independent think tank the … Continued

More than half of people say they are more likely to vote for a political party which could improve their living standards but there is scepticism that any of the main parties know how to do this, shows new polling from the Resolution Foundation. The poll, published by the independent think tank ahead of the … Continued

Today’s Spending Round means a number of key non-protected Government departments will see brutal cuts to their total budgets of between roughly one-fifth and over a half between 2010 and 2015. Yet on current plans today’s reductions tee up even steeper falls still to come, according to analysis from the Resolution Foundation. We aren’t yet … Continued

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, according to a new polling report for the Resolution Foundation. The analysis, “2015- the living standards election?”, gives a unique insight into what voters think that … Continued

Almost half the British public expect to be worse off by the time of the next election in 2015 than they are now, reveals a major new polling project from the Resolution Foundation. In addition, much of the electorate is expecting the rest of this decade to be characterised by slow growth with more than one … Continued

On personal tax allowances – Small gains for the great majority of tax payers excluding the very highest and lowest earners. However three-quarters of the £1 billion goes to households in the top half. On fuel duty – The freeze on fuel duty will disproportionately benefit lower and modest income families. On childcare – Welcome … Continued

The Resolution Foundation welcomed the OECD’s advice today (Wed 6th Feb) that the government should act to ensure that work always pays for second earners. The report echoes the Resolution Foundation’s Commission on Living Standards, suggesting that government could take steps to give equal treatment to second-earners under Universal Credit and increase support for childcare. … Continued

The majority of cuts to benefit and tax credits announced in today’s Autumn Statement will fall on working households, warns independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. Resolution Foundation analysis shows that approximately 60 per cent of the effect of a three-year below-inflation rise in benefits will hit working households while 40 per cent will affect those … Continued

ANALYSIS The further increase to the personal tax allowance to £9,205 in April 2013 will benefit all basic rate tax payers by on average £220 a year, worth £170 after inflation. Our first priority to target gains more directly on low to middle income households would have been to reverse £1.6bn of cuts to working … Continued

Today’s announcement of cuts to tax credits hit low to middle income families hard and is straightforwardly regressive, analysis from the Resolution Foundation shows. Scrapping the planned increases in Child Tax Credit and freezing more elements of the Working Tax Credit takes money from those who can least afford it, with more than three-quarters of … Continued

FROM POVERTY TRAP TO ASPIRATION TRAP The impact of fiscal tightening on squeezed low-to-middle earners   The Resolution Foundation, the low-to-middle earner research and policy organisation, today provides its detailed analysis of what the full package of fiscal tightening measures introduced by the coalition government since June means for the 11 million struggling to get … Continued