News stories archive

The News stories archive provides summaries of the main stories on poverty, social exclusion, inequality and social mobility in the UK from 2011 to 2014, the period of the PSE UK project. Some major stories from outside the UK are also included.

You can search the archive by entering "news stories" plus the subject in the search box above.

Displaying 11 - 20 of 45

  • 12/02/14

    Two thirds of those hit by bedroom tax are in debt

    Nearly two out of every three households who are affected by the coalition government's 'bedroom tax' cannot find the money to pay their rents, according to new research for the National Housing Federation.
     

    Subjects: Housing benefit
    Category: News stories
  • 25/01/14

    Labour to bring back 50p tax rate

    A future Labour government would restore the 50p tax rate for those earning over £150,000 a year, Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls has said.
     
    The previous Labour government created a new 50 per cent tax band in 2010 for anyone with income of more than £150,000 a year, but this was cut to 45 per cent by the coalition government in April 2013.
     

    Subjects: Labour party, Tax
    Category: News stories
  • 20/01/14

    Labour calls for benefits to be linked to skills

    Unemployed people who lack basic skills should be denied access to benefits unless they take up training, according to the opposition Labour party. The proposal was made by Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Rachel Reeves, in her first major speech since taking up her new post.
     

    Subjects: Labour party, Welfare-to-work
    Category: News stories
  • 16/01/14

    Chancellor wants above-inflation minimum wage rise

    Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has said he wants to see an above-inflation increase in the minimum wage. In an exclusive interview with the BBC he said that the adult minimum wage, currently £6.31 an hour, would have to increase to £7 an hour by 2015 for its value to return to where it was before the global economic recession.
     

    Subjects: Minimum wage
    Category: News stories
  • 13/01/14

    Duncan Smith backs child benefit cut

    Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has offered support for the idea that families should only be able to claim child benefit for their first two offspring. He told the Sunday Times: 'It’s a brilliant idea'.
     

    Subjects: Child benefit
    Category: News stories
  • 09/01/14

    Bedroom tax ‘bungle’

    Thousands of people have been wrongly identified as being liable for the 'bedroom tax', including some who now face eviction or have been forced to move to a smaller property, according to a report in the Guardian newspaper. This is a result, says the paper, of an error by the Department of Work and Pensions.

    Subjects: Housing benefit
    Category: News stories
  • 07/01/14

    Free school meals extended in Scotland

    Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has announced a significant expansion of free school meals and childcare provision. As part of a £114 million package for young people over two years, every child in Scotland in the first three years of primary school will have the option of a free meal in school from January 2015.
     

    Subjects: Child poverty, Scotland
    Category: News stories
  • 06/01/14

    Osborne threatens £12bn more benefits cuts

    Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has revealed plans to cut an extra £25 billion from public spending by the end of 2017-18 if the Conservatives win the next election, with benefits spending as the main target for reductions.
     

    Subjects: Benefits, Government cuts, Public spending
    Category: News stories
  • 06/01/14

    ‘Benefits Street’ documentary sparks controversy

    The television broadcaster Channel 4 has begun showing a five-part documentary series about people living in a deprived street in Birmingham. The series – called 'Benefits Street' – was filmed in James Turner Street in the Winson Green area of Birmingham: the area has a very high rate of unemployment and the street has many residents who rely on benefits for their income.
     

    Subjects: Mass media, Social attitudes
    Category: News stories
  • 03/01/14

    One in eleven facing rent or mortgage trouble

    One in eleven people in Britain fear they won't be able to afford their monthly rent or mortgage payments in 2014, according to new research from the campaign group Shelter. The research was based on a YouGov survey of over 4,000 adults.
     
     The findings show household budgets across the country at breaking point, Shelter says. Families are the worst affected, with over 70 per cent of rent or mortgage payers with children struggling or falling behind with their payments, compared with 63 per cent of the general population.
     

    Subjects: Housing
    Category: News stories