Category: Poverty
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On Tuesday, the Government announced reforms to working age disability benefits with the stated aim of helping those who can work to do so, and supporting those who can’t. This will be done via providing more support and incentives to work, as well as making it harder to achieve eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP),…
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There has been talk recently in the news about means testing the State Pension. This is because the costs of the State Pension will continue to grow, despite increases in State Pension age (SPa). Spending on State pension in 2024/25 is forecast to be around £137.5bn. Spending on state pensions and pensioner benefits costs around…
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The energy price cap went up again on January 1st, by 1.2%. This brings the average household energy bill energy to £1,738 a year, an increase of £21 a month. This follows on from previous adjustments: Month Average annual bill for those on direct debit * January 2025 £1,738 October 2024 £1,717 July 2024 £1,568…
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I gave evidence to the work and pensions select committee today on pensioner poverty. They are interested in the causes of pensioner poverty and the role that state pensions and benefits play in ameliorating poverty. We talked about so many things during the hour in which I gave evidence alongside Carl Emmerson (IFS), Carole Easton…
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I watched the live stream of the Resolution Foundation seminar yesterday on their excellent report: A hard day’s night: the labour market experience of low-to-middle income families. This report highlights that employment rates have increased among low income families despite factors which would have been expected to reduce rates. The report notes several important factors:…
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I was so interested to read the Resolution Foundation’s (RF) Housing Outlook 2024, which highlighted that increases in Housing Costs are increasingly pushing poorer families with children below the poverty line. The RF pointed to more children growing up in the private rental sector as a key determinant and calculate that high rental costs in…