Benefit changes coming into effect from 9 April are set to save around £2.5bn – the second biggest welfare saving in a single year since the crash – and will significantly squeeze incomes of ‘just about managing’ families – according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Sunday). While the Chancellor has downplayed the prospect … Continued

  Welcoming the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Welfare Trends Report published today (Thursday), which contains an authoritative account of the generosity and spending pressures associated with Universal Credit (UC) over the next five years, David Finch, Senior Economic Analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Universal Credit is a huge change to our welfare state with … Continued

  RF says active fiscal and monetary policy needed to mitigate impact of any post-Brexit downturn The IMF’s revised outlook for GDP growth in the UK would mean the tax take falling by around £150m a week, presenting a huge challenge to the new Chancellor, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the … Continued

  Resolution Foundation says that major reforms are needed to make a success of the flagship welfare reform programme With the roll-out of the full Universal Credit service finally starting today (Wednesday) – it is being rolled out to five jobcentres including Bath and Newcastle Cathedral Square, with more to follow in the coming months … Continued

  Resolution Foundation calls for major reforms as full roll-out of Universal Credit begins this month A few weeks into his role, the new Work and Pensions Secretary has been urged to reclaim Universal Credit (UC) from the Treasury. The advice is contained in a major new report published today (Tuesday) by the Resolution Foundation … Continued

Resolution Foundation welcomes battle over progressive property taxation in run up to Scottish elections The average cash losses from the Scottish government’s proposed council tax reforms will be over ten times greater for the richest tenth of households compared to the poorest half, according to a new report published today (Friday) by the Resolution Foundation. … Continued

  Commenting on the announcement this afternoon by the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Stephen Crabb MP, that there would be “no further plans to make welfare savings beyond the very substantial savings legislated for by parliament two weeks ago”, Torsten Bell Director of the Resolution Foundation said: “This is welcome news … Continued

Working households on Universal Credit are set to lose an average of £1,000 in 2020, rising to £1,300 for those with children, despite the welcome reversal of the main cuts to tax credits announced in the Spending Review ­– according to new analysis published today (Thursday) by the independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. The Foundation notes that these losses will … Continued

Pace of spending cuts eased with the state set to be increasingly focused on healthcare and pensions Reversing tax credits cuts will bring welcome relief for millions of families who were set to lose an average of £1,300 next year. But most of the losses have been delayed rather than scrapped, leaving millions of working … Continued

Chancellor’s Autumn Statement must address the looming £1.4bn ‘pay crunch’ in social care Up to a million care workers are set to benefit from the new National Living Wage (NLW), but a combination of rising costs, a growing workforce and reduced funding will create a ‘pay crunch’ that the Chancellor must address in his Autumn … Continued

New research shows the Treasury could reverse the most damaging tax credit cuts and still meet key fiscal objectives The government has several options for funding a reversal of its planned tax credit cuts, but pushing ahead with tweaked proposals would be expensive, leave millions of families worse off,  and produce perverse work incentives, according … Continued

Making Universal Credit (UC) easier to use could boost employment and prevent the risk of penalising families whose earnings and outgoings don’t fit into a neat monthly pattern, according to a new report published today (Monday) by the Resolution Foundation. The think-tank’s nine-month review of Universal Credit considers how the once-in-a-generation welfare reform is equipped … Continued

Working families moving onto Universal Credit could become ‘second class savers’, with any money put aside potentially counting against their benefit entitlement, according to a new report to be published on Monday (8 June) by the independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. Making it work – the final report of a nine-month review of Universal Credit … Continued

  Far-reaching reforms of Universal Credit (UC) would help hundreds of thousands more people into work and bring significant cash benefits to working families with children, according to a new report published today (Monday) by the independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. Making it work – the final report of a nine-month review of Universal Credit … Continued

Universal Credit (UC) will increase financial incentives for benefit recipients to enter work but could also make it more attractive for some to work short hours, according to a new report published today by the independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. Credit where it’s due? – the interim report of the Resolution Foundation’s major inquiry into … Continued

Think-tank sets out a roadmap to a Living Wage for care workers Two thirds of all care jobs in the UK (930,000 in total) paid below the living wage last year, according to a new report published today (Tuesday) by independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. The Resolution Foundation report, the culmination of a year-long investigation … Continued

Nearly 100,000 care jobs in the capital paid below the London Living Wage last year – accounting for almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of the frontline care workforce – according to new analysis published today (Wednesday) by the independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. The analysis, part of a UK-wide investigation into the pay and conditions … Continued

Millions of lower income working families will find it harder to keep up with the cost of living because changes to Universal Credit (UC) will shrink the amount of earnings they can keep and erode the incentive to work, according to new analysis published today (Friday) from the independent think-tank Resolution Foundation. In his recent … Continued

Resolution Foundation calls for improved in-work support and alignment of National Insurance threshold with the Personal Allowance to support households on low to middle incomes The income tax cuts proposed to date by the main parties are set to largely bypass low to middle income Britain – the very households they claim to be helping … Continued

Poorer working families stand to miss out on as much as £1,000 a year because they are being excluded from a more generous package of childcare support being finalised by the government in the next few weeks. New analysis from independent think tank the Resolution Foundation shows that, among those families who will qualify for … Continued

Politicians weighing up tax cuts in the approach to the next general election are at risk of mis-selling their policies by failing to disclose how little of any proposed giveaway in the next Parliament will actually benefit millions of working households on universal credit. Analysis by the Resolution Foundation reveals for the first time how … Continued

Some families will need to earn an extra £1,000 a year just to stand still Millions of poorer working families will find it harder for their incomes to keep up with inflation, even after recovery kicks in, because of changes to Universal Credit which will shrink the amount of earnings they can keep, shows new … Continued