Labour market One in five workers on low pay as National Minimum Wage falls again in real terms 29 September 2012 One in five British workers – just over five million employees – are low-paid, finds a new report from the independent Resolution Foundation published as the national minimum wage falls in real terms for the third consecutive year. The report, Low Pay Britain 2012, shows that the nation’s share of low-paid work has grown steadily … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Living standards set for decade of decline unless Britain charts a new course 23 September 2012 Living standards for Britain’s low and middle income households will be lower in 2020 than they were a decade earlier even if growth returns, a new economic analysis suggests. Households in this group are set for income falls of between 3 and 15 per cent from 2008 to 2020. The study, carried out for independent … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Unemployment is dragging down wages more steeply than in previous recessions 19 September 2012 Typical workers have lost an extra £800 in annual pay over recent years because unemployment has begun to drive down wages much more strongly than had previously been observed, a new study for independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation has discovered. The study, What a Drag, shows that the relationship between pay and unemployment shifted during … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Stealth raid to cost families over £600 a year 11 September 2012 The government’s decision to change the way support for families keeps up with rising prices is going to cost the typical family with children £614 a year due to reductions in Child Benefit and Universal Credit payments, according to new research from independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. This stealth raid will hit those on … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Politicians just don’t get the financial pressures faced by ordinary families 30 August 2012 More than two people in five (43%), think most politicians don’t understand the financial pressures they face, according to new polling from independent think tank, the Resolution Foundation, with levels of dissatisfaction running highest among the middle aged (53% of 45 – 54 year olds). The poll, a quarterly tracker of household finances, carried out by … Continued READ MORE
Labour market UK risks missing golden opportunity among over 50s 8 August 2012 The UK could miss a historic opportunity to boost employment among the over 50s, according to new research from independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. The analysis finds that the UK ranks 15th out of 34 OECD countries, for older workers, lagging the five top countries for by over fifteen percentage points. Closing this gap … Continued READ MORE
Housing Olympic inspiration for new family housing 19 July 2012 The planned conversion of the Olympic Village to 1,400 high quality long-term private rental homes should serve as an inspirational model for how to tackle the UK’s housing crisis according to new research published today by independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. The report argues that with one low to middle income family in four … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Tax and benefit systems must do more to make work pay 17 July 2012 The current system of redistribution through taxation and welfare is inefficient and could be reformed to give more support to those on low and middle incomes according to a new report for the Resolution Foundation. The report, written by Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and drawing heavily on the Mirrlees Review … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Key Cameron ally calls for end to universal benefits for better-off pensioners 10 July 2012 Leading Tory moderniser, Nick Boles MP, calls for end to Winter Fuel Payments, free prescriptions, free bus travel and free TV licenses for better-off pensioners from 2015 to help ensure the government can do more to help working people achieve rising living standards in the future. In a major speech to the independent think tank, … Continued READ MORE
Welfare No evidence that tax credits surpress wages, says think tank 27 June 2012 There is no evidence that tax credits hold down low wages, according to new research published today by independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. The analysis discredits the assumption that tax credits, available to low and middle income families, enable employers to pay lower wages. Tax credits reach around six million families, providing substantial support … Continued READ MORE
Housing Stagnant economy will mean record numbers renting their homes 10 June 2012 Just one in four households will own with a mortgage by 2025 if the economy continues to stagnate, pushing record numbers into the private rented sector, new research says today. A new report commissioned by the Resolution Foundation and Shelter from Cambridge University looks at how the housing market will change if current economic … Continued READ MORE
Housing Lowest income households borrowed to spend in run up to crisis 15 May 2012 Low to middle income households were reliant on borrowing to fund much of their spending for more than a decade before the financial crisis, according to a new report for the independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. The report reveals the full extent of the increase in borrowing and deterioration in household savings rates in the … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Big business can afford to pay living wage 7 May 2012 Paying a living wage is affordable for big companies in UK banking, construction, computing and food production sectors, according to a new report jointly published by the think tanks Resolution Foundation and IPPR. The new analysis shows that the average increase in the wage bill for listed companies in these sectors would be about 1 … Continued READ MORE
Housing One in five people struggling to keep heads above water 22 April 2012 Almost one in five people (18%) are finding it increasingly hard to afford essentials such as food and energy bills, according to new polling from independent think tank, Resolution Foundation. With the recovery remaining highly fragile and new cuts to tax credits starting to bite, the number of those expecting their financial situation to get worse … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Minimum wage now lower than eight years ago 17 April 2012 The national minimum wage has reduced wage inequality but without damaging employment, according to a new report for the independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. The news comes in light of this year’s just announced 11p increase from £6.08 an hour to £6.19, with the rate frozen for young people. This is the third successive … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Black Friday as Chancellor wields cuts to tax credits 5 April 2012 Thousands of low income working families will lose up to a quarter of their household income from this Friday, the start of the new tax year, as major cuts to tax credits start to bite. In particular, low to middle income couples working less than 24 hours will no longer be eligible for working tax … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Resolution Foundation 2012 Budget Reaction 21 March 2012 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 READ MORE
Labour market We’re all managers now 2 March 2012 Job title inflation has been a growing phenomenon in recent years, with an increasing proportion of people with senior sounding job titles still earning middle-ranking wages, according to new research published today for the independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. The research finds that the proportion of managers in the retail sector earning below £400 … Continued READ MORE
Welfare The high price of motherhood 9 February 2012 British women are paying a shockingly high price for motherhood as they are forced into lower-skilled, part-time work after having children, according to the findings of a new survey by Netmums and independent think tank, Resolution Foundation. The poll of over 1,600 part-time working mothers revealed almost half (48%) of mothers on low to middle … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Political battle for the squeezed middle escalates 23 January 2012 The squeezed middle remain the key political battleground, facing a new tax credits squeeze on top of a continued fall in real wages, a growing chance of a lifetime renting, increasingly precarious household finances and incomes unlikely to rise beyond their pre-recession (2007) levels even by 2020, according to a new report from independent think … Continued READ MORE
Housing Households preparing for the worst as they batten down the hatches 22 January 2012 With growing pessimism about the state of their household finances, a third of Britons plan to cut back their spending this year, a significant rise from in October. More also say they are now saving and planning to pay down their debt, according to new polling from independent think tank, the Resolution Foundation. The poll is … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Rising prices of essential goods wipe out gains in living standards 27 December 2011 New analysis shows that the rising cost of essentials had already wiped out most of the gains in living standards made in the early 2000s by families on low and modest incomes, even before the recession began. The new report, for independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation, shows that increases in the price of food, fuel … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Welfare Children in low to middle income families start school five months behind 13 December 2011 Children in low to middle income families are already behind their most affluent peers when they start school, because of their upbringing – according to a major new study for the independent think tank, the Resolution Foundation. The study of over 15,000 five year olds, carried out by child development experts Jane Waldfogel and Elizabeth … Continued READ MORE
Housing Tenants ripped off by letting agents 8 December 2011 Tenants are being let down by an unregulated lettings market, with significant upfront costs, variable fees and a lack of transparency around charges, according to a new report published today by independent think tank, the Resolution Foundation. In a mystery shopping exercise of letting agents in three cities, the range and type of fees charged … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Working women key to rising living standards 6 December 2011 The rise of working women has been a critical factor in raising the living standards of low to middle income households in the last 40 years, according to new research carried out by the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies for the Resolution Foundation. In the first major study breaking down the factors which drove household … Continued READ MORE
