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Those responsible for developing policy on child poverty need to understand young people's perspectives and experiences, and to work with them on the issue, according to a new study.

The poorest UK households are being disproportionately hit by the impact of soaring food prices, according to a new government report containing more detailed statistics than previously available on income groups.

Real progress was made by the New Labour governments of 1997–2010 in tackling social exclusion, according to a new report. But it also argues that weaknesses in the strategy have been exposed by austerity conditions since the global crisis of 2008.

Public support for the benefits system has been in steady decline in recent decades, according to a report from the polling organization Ipsos MORI.

There is no evidence for the growth of 'a culture of worklessness', a study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found.

Rich, powerful and well connected groups in society are depriving the country of vital investment spending and costing the government billions in lost annual revenues, according to a new report from the Compass think tank.

A series of common 'myths' and stereotypes about poverty and benefits are tackled in a briefing paper from the Children's Society. It is crucial, the paper says, that public debate is based on the facts, and ensures policy-makers focus on the challenges most common to those living in poverty.

Major shifts in economic structure in recent decades are to blame for rising income inequality and the declining share of national income going to wages, say two new studies. The growing importance of the financial services sector is a key factor.

Income inequality leads to popular support for redistribution, according to a study that looked at evidence from 33 European countries over the period 2002–2010. It was also found that the actual level of redistribution implemented in a country decreases support for more redistribution.

Child poverty rates in the USA are high by both historical and international standards, according to a journal article by academics from New York University.

Most benefits and tax credits for working-age people will be cut in real terms for three years in a row from 2013-14, under plans announced by the Chancellor in his 2012 Autumn Statement on the public finances.

Measures of material deprivation, rather than low income, are particularly effective in identifying individuals at risk of multiple forms of deprivation, according to a paper from the LSE's Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion.

by Graeme Cooke

Social mobility is relatively poor in the USA, contrary to the popular perception, according to a report prepared by the Congressional research service.

The wealthiest tenth of households own nearly 44 per cent of overall wealth, and are over 850 times wealthier than the least wealthy tenth of households, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Increased levels of income inequality are associated with increased material deprivation, according to a new study of European countries.

Cuts in benefits for young people are putting them at greater risk of becoming homeless, according to a new survey.

Nearly a quarter of the EU population were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2011, according to official statistics released by Eurostat. The figure of 24.2 per cent – equivalent to 119.6 million people – was higher than the 23.4 per cent recorded in 2010, and the 23.5 per cent in 2008.

Author/s:
Eldin Fahmy

The paper welcomes proposals in the Hills Fuel Poverty Review to measure incomes for fuel poverty purposes after housing costs and adjusted for household size and composition and the call for substantial additional data collection in order to better understand contemporary energy use behavi

Families with children are at greatest risk from cuts in public services, according to a trade union report that looks at the potential impact of cuts (other than those to benefits and tax credits) on different family and household types.

A 'pioneering' new model has been launched to capture the different ways poverty hits a range of household types. The Demos think tank stresses that poverty is not just about income, but is a 'complex, multi-dimensional phenomenon' manifesting itself in a variety of ways.

Out of 878,000 unemployed people referred to the Work Programme in its first year, only 20,000 (around 2.3 per cent) stayed in their jobs for longer than the target of three or six months (depending on payment group), according to the first official statistics on the scheme.

The outlook for public finances has worsened significantly in recent months, according to a briefing from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. As a result the Chancellor is likely to need to find more public spending cuts than already planned, and to consider additional tax increases.

The links between poverty and job insecurity are highlighted in an annual monitoring report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The welfare state in its existing form will become unsustainable over the next few decades, according to a report by a Conservative MP. Writing for the right-of-centre Free Enterprise Group, Chris Skidmore calls for fundamental reform of the benefits system.

Not all low-earning working households will be better off under the new universal credit system, according to a report from the Chartered Institute of Housing. It calculates that 400,000 working families will have less income under universal credit in 2015 than they did in 2010.

Serious concerns have been voiced by a committee of MPs about the potential impact of the new universal credit system on vulnerable claimants.

Increasing numbers of working households are being pushed into problem debt by low wage growth, cuts in tax credits, and rising prices for essentials like food and fuel, according to new research.

Benefit levels for working-age people have been falling relative to average living standards in almost every European Union country in recent decades, according to the latest paper from a large-scale research project on poverty and inequality.

Misleading news coverage is preventing thousands of people from claiming vital social security benefits, according to Kent University researchers. They found one in four eligible people had either delayed or failed to make a benefits claim because of the perceived stigma attached to doing so.

A contrasting picture of the operation of the work capability assessment for disabled people has appeared in two new reports. The first, an officially commissioned review, says no fundamental change in the system is needed.

More action is needed to address income inequality, according to a collection of articles scrutinising the coalition government's record mid-way through its term of office.

The combined impact of benefits reform and public sector cuts is putting huge strains on a welfare system already 'buckling' in the face of growing demand and underfunding, according to a think-tank report.

Workers in the US have not benefited from earnings growth for an entire generation – the average American worker earned no more in 2009 than in 1975 – and now something similar appears to be happening to the 'squeezed middle' in Britain.

The 2012 US Presidential elections were unusual for the relatively important role played by issues of inequality and the distribution of income and wealth, says a paper by researchers at the London School of Economics.

A former coalition minister has condemned the government's plan for a benefits cap as 'immoral'. Liberal Democrat Sarah Teather MP accuses the government of seeking to 'gain popularity at the expense of children's lives' and of demonising claimants.

Increases in owner-occupation and house prices in the UK over the period 2000–2005 led to falls in relative measures of wealth inequality, according to a new study.

The national minimum wage (NMW) has played a significant role in reducing wage inequality – at least in the bottom half of the wage distribution – according to researchers at the London School of Economics who looked at trends in wage inequality between 1998 (when the NMW was introduced) and 2010

The government has launched a consultation on proposals to alter the official measure of child poverty. It says it wants to look at developing a wider measurement than one based solely on income. Looking at relative income in isolation is 'misleading', it argues.

 

The new universal credit scheme will leave most lone parents with incomes that are too low to provide a decent minimum standard of living, according to a report for the campaign group Gingerbread. The group calls for further steps to improve work rewards under the scheme.

Claimants have described their experiences of the work capability assessment in a report produced by the campaign group We Are Spartacus.

by Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby, University of Kent

The top 1 per cent of earners enjoyed a real-terms increase of 117 per cent over the 25 years between 1986 and 2011, according to a new official analysis – compared with the average of 62 per cent, and with just 47 per cent for those in the lowest decile group.

Updated figures have been produced for the 'living wage' – the minimum level of pay needed to provide an adequate standard of living for an average household.

Author/s:
Mike Tomlinson and Grace Kelly

This paper is concerned with the likely impact of the Spending Review on living standards in Northern Ireland and especially the living standards of those with the lowest incomes. The cuts in Treasury funding for Northern Ireland are greater than many assume.

Local authorities in London are preparing to send thousands of homeless families to live in temporary homes outside the capital, according to a survey conducted by the Guardian newspaper. This would be in defiance of official guidance that people should continue to be housed locally.

The government has published a framework for implementing its social justice strategy. It emphasises that the indicators set out in the framework are not a set of 'targets', but are instead designed to highlight priorities and identify where progress is (or is not) being made.

 

Many forms of social disadvantage have a 'perpetual' character, according to the findings of a large-scale European research project. Past inequalities can themselves lead to future inequalities – not only for the individuals concerned but also for their children.

Millions of households are heading for a long period of falling or stagnant living standards unless bold steps are taken to ensure economic growth over the next decade is broadly shared, according to a commission report.

Author/s:
John Veit-Wilson

The UK public has increasingly negative views about ‘welfare benefits’ claimants, according to recent reports by the British Social Attitudes survey and

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