Devolving Council Tax support in 2013-14 has massively increased the amount of social security now being administered locally in England. But this change has caused acute and often arbitrary hardship for vulnerable families – illustrating the perils of passing responsibility for deep spending cuts onto local authorities – according to new research published today (Thursday). … Continued

While the fall in CPI to 3.6 per cent in October, from 3.8 in September, signals the start of a long drift down in inflation, the cost of living remains high meaning the Chancellor must act at the Budget, according to the Resolution Foundation this morning (Wednesday). This fall was largely in line with expectations, … Continued

Commenting on the latest rumours that the Chancellor is no longer planning to increase Income Tax rates in her upcoming Budget, following rumours last week that this would be the centrepiece of the Budget, Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “At the Budget the Chancellor needs to do three things: take decisive … Continued

The labour market is weakening on multiple fronts with the number of payrolled jobs falling by 64,000 in the past two months, short-term private sector pay growth falling to 2.7 per cent, and unemployment hitting 5 per cent for the first time (outside of the pandemic) since 2016, the Resolution Foundation said today. The number … Continued

Sir Charlie Mayfields’s report, published today (Wednesday), rightly frames Britain’s economic challenge of rising inactivity due to ill-health as being a matter for the world of work as well as the welfare system. The Government should now fast-track the Review’s recommendations, moving quickly from the initial ‘Vanguard’ phase to full deployment, according to the Resolution Foundation. The timely report confirms that rising ill-health and disability pose a genuine challenge to our labour market, our … Continued

The Chancellor should take decisive steps in her Budget to put the public finances in order and aim to double her level of headroom, while focusing on reducing prices, poverty and protecting payslips, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday). The Foundation’s Autumn Budget 2025 preview notes that the widely anticipated downgrade to the UK’s ‘trend’ … Continued

Fully scrapping the two-child limit on benefits is an essential step towards achieving lower child poverty rates in 2029-30 than in 2024-25. No partial repeal of the policy is sufficient to keep child poverty rates from rising, according to new analysis from the Resolution Foundation today (Thursday). No half measures uses the latest economic data … Continued

Rapid rent increases since Local Housing Allowance has been frozen means the gap between the support low-income private tenants receive and the 30th percentile of local rents is already at 14 per cent (£104 a month for a typical two-bedroom property). This affordability gap is expected to reach a record 17 per cent next year, … Continued

Britain has continued to make progress on reducing the gender pay gap and the incidence of low pay in the past year, though overall pay growth has slowed in recent months, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). The ASHE data, which was collected … Continued

Headline CPI inflation held steady at 3.8 per cent in September – defying expectations of a rise to 4 per cent – but this welcome surprise comes at the wrong time for the millions of households receiving benefits. The September inflation rate is used to determine benefit uprating the following April. As a result, this … Continued

The number of young people aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) has risen by 195,000 over the past two years to reach 940,000. The most common reason for being NEET is unemployment, but the largest increase in recent decades has been amongst those inactive due to disability and ill-health, according … Continued

Delays in when people get their first job have driven a rise in the proportion of young people who have never worked, according to new Resolution Foundation research published later this week that will examine what is driving the number of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET). The report finds … Continued

Moving energy and social policy costs off household electricity bills and onto general taxation would save the poorest fifth of households around £110 a year – net of tax increases to balance the books – with almost three-in-four households being better off overall, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Thursday). Splitting the bill … Continued

The weakening jobs market is finally affecting pay packets, with wage growth in the private sector slowing sharply over the summer, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The number of payrolled jobs was little changed in August with a small rise of 10,000 compared to July and … Continued

It would now take 52 years’ worth of typical earnings – £1.3 million in total – to move from the middle to the top of the wealth distribution, as wealth gaps continue to grow across Britain, according to new research from the Resolution Foundation, published today (Wednesday). Before the fall examines the scale and distribution … Continued

The Government will need to both hit and sustain its unprecedented target of creating 1.5 million new homes at least over this Parliament and the next to reduce pressure on private rents and temporary accommodation, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Saturday). The Housing Outlook Q3 2025 finds that that hitting the Government’s … Continued

The Chancellor should protect workers’ pay packets and level the playing field on how different forms of income are taxed – including a 2p cut in employee National Insurance (NI) offset by a 2p rise in Income Tax (IT) – in order to raise £6 billion in a Budget that will require significant tax increases, … Continued

The scale of Britain’s living standards slowdown over the past 20 years is so large that a typical family today would be £20,000 richer had incomes continued at the rate of growth trending in 2005, when the Resolution Foundation was founded. During past 20 years, the Resolution Foundation has worked to put living standards at … Continued

Headline CPI inflation held steady at 3.8 per cent in August – ending a run of disappointing increases – as a downward contribution from air fares was offset by increases in hospitality and for petrol. There were encouraging signs for policy makers under the bonnet as the closely watched core inflation fell from 3.8 per cent in July … Continued

The UK labour market continues to cool as the number of payrolled jobs falls and wage growth slows. But the rapid deterioration in the first half of the year, centred around the increase in National Insurance contributions, has calmed, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The … Continued

Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high‑risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.  Resolution Ventures, the social investment firm launched by the Resolution Foundation, has today launched its new WorkerTech fund, which backs startups … Continued

The UK now has the highest borrowing costs of any rich OECD country, despite its middle-of-the-pack debt position, due to ‘sticky’ inflation and a borrowing-cost premium driven by our vulnerability to changes in the whims of international investors, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Friday). The Foundation’s latest Macroeconomic Policy Outlook notes recent … Continued

*Please note that this headline is no longer accurate as the figure cited has changed  The number of customers falling behind on their electricity bills with no repayment plan in place has risen by more than a third, climbing from 1.4 million in 2012 to 1.9 million at the end of 2024, with the number … Continued

Commenting on the Chancellor’s announcement today (Wednesday) that Autumn Budget 2025 will be held on Wednesday 26th November, Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “The Chancellor has officially fired the starting pistol on the countdown to one of the toughest second Budgets in living memory. “With higher gilt yields currently adding over … Continued

Despite recent challenges with the official Labour Force Survey (LFS), the recent rise in the unemployment rate (0.6 percentage points since January 2024, or equivalent to 258,000 people) appears to be accurate, and there may be further labour market loosening to come, according to new analysis from the Resolution Foundation today (Friday). The Labour Market … Continued