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Low-income households
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10/04/2013
Family allowances ‘not key’ to tackling inequality
Family allowances are less effective than policies such as childcare and parental leave in reducing household income inequality, according to a research study of a range of developed countries.
American academics looked at how welfare state policies were related to households' relative incomes for 17, mainly European and north American, countries between 1985 and 2005. They focused on the intersection between household income, family structure and parental education level.
Category: Reports -
09/04/2013
Birthdays on the breadline
Over half of parents in lower-income groups cannot afford to organise birthday parties for their children, according to the findings of a new survey. An opinion poll was combined with focus group research to give a picture of the financial stress surrounding children's parties for those in poverty.
Category: Reports -
05/04/2013
Low-income groups hit by Social Fund abolition
People on low incomes needing emergency financial help are likely to be faced with a 'postcode lottery' of provision following the abolition of the Social Fund, according to a new study. The Centre for Responsible Credit warns some people will be forced to turn to commercial high-cost lenders as a result.
The DWP-administered Social Fund – which provides community care grants, crisis loans for living expenses and budgeting loans – is being abolished from 1 April 2013, and the budget for the Fund is being devolved to local areas. Local councils in England, together with the Welsh and Scottish Governments, are now free to devise replacement schemes of their own using the money.
Category: Reports -
01/04/2013
Inflation ‘hits poorest families hardest’
Inflation is hitting the poorest families up to a third harder than the richest ones, due to the soaring cost of essentials such as gas and food, says the charity Barnardo's in a new report. Its conclusions are based on interviews with low-income families and new analysis of economic data.
Category: Reports -
28/03/2013
Local council tax support hits low-income families
2.4 million low-income families will pay on average £138 a year more in council tax from 1 April 2013, says a new analysis from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. This is a result of the coalition's replacement of council tax benefit (CTB) in England with localised systems of council tax support (CTS), along with a 10 per cent cut in funding.
Category: Reports -
31/01/2013
£600 extra council tax bill for low-income households
Low-income families in England will see their council tax bills rise by up to £600 a year from April 2013 as a result of council tax benefit 'reform', according to a think-tank analysis.
From April 2013 the government is handing responsibility for council tax support to English local authorities, at the same time as imposing a 10 per cent cut in funding for it. It is insisting that pensioners are fully protected from any rises under the new localised system, with the result that the changes will hit working-age households disproportionately. The Resolution Foundation study incorporates details of the reported intentions of 184 of England’s 326 local authorities.
Key pointsCategory: Reports -
07/01/2013
Water poverty set to soar
by Meg Huby and Jonathan Bradshaw
Almost a quarter of households in England and Wales suffered from water poverty in 2009/10 and if water charges continue to rise more quickly than inflation, the extent of water poverty could more than double by 2033. This is causing problems both for low-income families, who find that water costs are putting ever more pressure on household finances, and for the water companies, who face increasing losses of revenue through non-payment.
Since water privatisation in 1989, water prices have been increasing faster than both inflation and average earnings. As the graph below shows water and related charges have risen faster than overall consumer prices (though less than fuel and lighting). This has posed particular problems for families on benefits as benefit increases have been pegged to the Consumer Prices Index.
Movement in water compared to CPI and other costs
Category: Articles -
14/12/2012
Poorest households hit by soaring food prices
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. It also shows that the consumption of every major nutrient has fallen in the last four years since world food prices began to rise.
Category: Reports -
26/11/2012
Poverty soars among working households
The links between poverty and job insecurity are highlighted in an annual monitoring report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. It estimates that 6.1 million people in working households are now living in poverty – a number that exceeds the 5.1 million people in workless households in poverty.
Category: Reports -
22/11/2012
400,000 families ‘worse off under universal credit’
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.
Category: Reports
