Research has just been published which unfortunately shows a growing gap in the quality of health...
Government cuts
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04/06/2012
Austerity puts pressure on minimum wages in Europe
Pressure on minimum wages arising from government austerity measures has been highlighted by a European trade union think tank.
The briefing paper examines recent trends in minimum wages across Europe in the light of the economic crisis.
Key points In most European countries, workers earning the minimum wage have suffered losses – in some cases quite considerable ones – in real pay. The ‘Troika’ (the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank) has made a ‘more or less direct attempt’ to force cuts in minimum wages in big-deficit countries such as Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland. This has made the demand-depressing effects of austerity policies worse and is one factor behind economic stagnation in Europe.Source: Thorsten Schulten, Minimum Wages in Europe under Austerity, European Trade Union Institute
Category: Reports -
31/05/2012
Support for council tax – ‘tough challenge’ facing local authorities
Local authorities face a ‘tough challenge’ in taking control of council tax benefit at the same time as it is being cut by 10 per cent, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned.
An IFS paper examines the likely effects of the policy of localising support for council tax payers in England from 2013/14, together with the options available to councils.
Category: Reports -
31/05/2012
European Commission warns over UK poverty
The European Commission has warned over the potential impact of benefit cuts on UK poverty, particularly child poverty.
The Commission has assessed progress made in ‘reforming’ national budgets in line with agreed European Union priorities. Governments generally have not done enough to allow the EU to meet its targets for the fight against poverty, it says.
In a separate report on the UK the Commission says that:
Category: Reports -
29/05/2012
UNICEF warns over child poverty in UK
UNICEF, the United Nations agency, has highlighted the danger that public spending cuts by the government will reverse progress on reducing UK child poverty.
The report reviews progress made by the world’s wealthiest countries in reducing child poverty and deprivation.
Category: Reports -
24/05/2012
Parents of disabled children going without food and heating
An annual survey has found that 14 per cent of parents caring for disabled children are missing meals, and 17 per cent cannot afford to heat their homes.
The online survey was completed by 2,312 parent carers responsible for a disabled child: 76 per cent were in a couple relationship and 24 per cent were lone parents.
Category: Reports -
20/05/2012
Call for single 30 per cent income tax rate
A commission report has called for radical simplification of the tax system. It says there should be a single 30 per cent rate of income tax; the basic personal allowance should be raised to £10,000; and national insurance, stamp duty and inheritance tax should all be abolished.
The changes are proposed by a commission set up by the TaxPayers’ Alliance (which campaigns against higher taxes) and the Institute of Directors. It says the changes would mean a tax cut of £3,400 for a two-earner household with a yearly income of £28,000.
Category: Reports -
15/05/2012
Cameron ‘considering extra £25 billion welfare cuts’
A newspaper report has suggested the Prime Minister is considering ordering billions of pounds in extra cuts to social security spending. It says the proposal is contained in a confidential policy paper by Steve Hilton, the outgoing Number Ten adviser.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the plans include a new crackdown on housing benefit, and a ‘mark two’ system of universal credit to help push people off benefits back into full-time, rather than part-time, work. There are also understood to be a range of measures to encourage more women, particularly single mothers, to return to work. The measures would be designed to make £25 billion in cuts from benefits spending, beyond those already planned.
Category: News stories -
14/05/2012
500,000 set to lose disability benefits
Around half a million people are expected to lose support as a result of the new ‘personal independence payment’ (PIP) for working-age claimants.
The figure is contained in an official impact assessment of replacing disability living allowance (DLA) with PIP from April 2013 onwards. The assessment says PIP will cut benefit spending by £2,240 million (20 per cent of the DLA budget) by ‘focusing support on disabled people with greatest needs’. By 2015/16, the PIP ‘caseload’ is estimated at around 1.7 million compared with a previous forecast for DLA of around 2.2 million.
The change from DLA to PIP will work by imposing tougher tests of the daily tasks claimants are deemed capable of doing, such as preparing food, bathing, communicating and moving around.
Source: Disability Living Allowance Reform: Impact Assessment, Department for Work and Pensions
Category: Reports -
10/05/2012
Public service cuts ‘will create forgotten Britain’
A charity chief has warned of hardening public attitudes to people in poverty, resulting in an increasing divide between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. He said plans to cut billions from public services risk creating a ‘forgotten Britain’ where the plight of ‘whole swathes of society is getting worse but is invisible to the rest of us’.
Sir Stephen Bubb, head of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, made his comments in a speech in London.
Category: News stories -
09/05/2012
Iain Duncan Smith calls for ‘cultural change’ to cut welfare bill
Britain needs a ‘cultural change’ if it is going to cut spending on benefits, according to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Simply ‘cheese slicing’ the budget will not be enough, and he accused previous governments of simply ‘patching up’ a fundamentally broken system.
Iain Duncan Smith made the comments in a speech to a right-wing think tank, Policy Exchange, in London. He said he wants to see ‘internal and external cultural change’ in the coming years, not just ‘political and technocratic’ welfare reform. He continued:
‘By this I mean cultural change both within society, and within government itself. We are faced with a fundamental challenge. Millions of people stuck on out of work benefits. Millions not saving nearly enough for their retirement. And government addicted to spending levels as a measurement of success, rather than life change as a measurement of success.’
Category: News stories
