This briefing covers rising prices including food and energy inflation, Government support, and how the cost of living affects households.
06
Feb
Feb
In the benefit system, entitlement and need are intertwined: the greater the need, the more benefit income a family is usually entitled to receive. But in the 2010s, two policies were introduced that delinked entitlement and need by limiting the amount of benefits some families could receive: the benefit cap in 2013, and the two-child limit in 2017. At present, nearly half a million families are hit by at least one of these policies. Although the benefit cap affects out-of-work families only, this is not the case for the two-child limit, and six out of ten families affected by the two-child limit today contain at least one adult that is in work.
05
Feb
Feb
There has been a decline in the number of bank branches in operation in the UK over the last three decades. This has reportedly impacted many people, including those with disabilities, older people and those living in rural areas. In recent years, the government has sought to mitigate the impact of branch closures by introducing legislation containing provisions to protect access to cash services and publishing a policy statement outlining its minimum expectations to banks regarding services being removed or changed.
02
Feb
Feb
The amount you earn, and how often you’re paid your wages, can affect your Universal Credit. If you or your partner are working, how much Universal Credit you get will depend on how much you earn each month. These are called your ‘assessment periods’.
01
Feb
Feb
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) allow the birth
parent (or adopting parent) to curtail the amount of Maternity Leave and
Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance (or Statutory Adoption Leave
and Pay) that they would have been eligible for, and instead transfer that
balance to the other parent. Up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of
pay can be shared in this way.
31
Jan
Jan
The UK has, in theory, an income safety net to ensure that nobody has too little income to subsist.
Universal Credit (UC) is supposed to provides a minimum monthly income for all working age adults and
their children, provided that those able to work take steps to find employment. Pension Credit provides a minimum income guarantee for those above state pension age. The purpose of these benefits is to ensure that nobody has to be left without financial means; on this basis, some people are excluded because they have savings that they could draw on. But for this to be called a safety net, it needs to be set at a level sufficient to meet people’s basic needs. No government has ever tested benefit levels against this criterion.
31
Jan
Jan
Life expectancy at birth in England has been increasing at a markedly slower rate since 2011 than in previous decades. In a previous note IHE provided an estimate of the proportion of the slowdown associated with changes in seasonal factors.
31
Jan
Jan
The UK is entering this election year with unacceptably high levels of poverty, appallingly high for some groups. We need a coherent plan with creative policies to end poverty in the UK.
This report looks at the current situation across different groups and regions, and the future prospects for poverty in the UK.
30
Jan
Jan
Imagine not knowing where you are going to stay tonight. Where do you go, where will you sleep, how are you going to wash yourself and what are you going to eat? This is the reality for over three thousand people in England forced to sleep on our streets tonight.
29
Jan
Jan
This briefing looks at how children and young people’s mental health services in England work and sets out relevant Government policy and statistics.