Episodes
4 days ago
4 days ago
Universal Credit, announced back in 2010 and introduced in 2013, will be fully rolled out by whoever wins the next election. The benefit has been on a rollercoaster over those years – with the IT underpinning it causing major teething problems, and later success in processing unprecedented numbers of claims during the pandemic. In the long years since Universal Credit was planned, both the system and Britain have changed a lot. So now is the time to step back and review the system the next government will inherit.
How has the eventual form Universal Credit has taken differed from the system of legacy benefits it replaced? Has Britain changed since 2010 and how has that affected Universal Credit – including which groups the benefit supports? Who wins and loses from the switch, and how has that been shaped by wider cuts to social security in recent years? And what comes next, for Universal Credit and Britain’s social security system more broadly?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research assessing the rollout of Universal Credit so far, we will hear from leading experts on what the future of social security in the UK might look like.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/in-credit/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/in-credit/
6 days ago
6 days ago
The combination of high house prices and stagnating incomes over recent decades, coupled with the decline of social housing, mean that millions more of us are private renters. And they are renting for longer too. Private rents have risen swiftly in the wake of the pandemic. What happens next matters hugely for millions of families, and yet the drivers of private rental costs are poorly understood with a range of explanations being proposed for the post-pandemic surge.
To what extent has landlords selling up driven the recent rise in rental prices? Or are other factors – such as earnings growth or higher interest rates – more significant? What should we expect the future to hold for rents? And what does this mean for renters, landlords, and policymakers?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on what is driving recent trends in private sector rent levels, we will hear from leading experts on the short and longer-term outlook.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/through-the-roof/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/building-pressure/
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
Thursday Mar 28, 2024
The introduction of the minimum wage back in April 1999 was a controversial policy choice, with businesses warning that it would lead to widespread job losses. But 25 years on, it has proved to be a great policy success that has been built on by several governments. Raising the legal wage floor has significantly reduced low pay and inequality, without any substantial employment effects. With the minimum wage on track to reach its target of two-thirds of median hourly earnings this year, virtually eliminating hourly low pay in Britain, it’s time to reflect on the successes of this approach and aims for the future.
How has the UK labour market changed since the introduction of the minimum wage? Why has it been able to evolve into a far higher wage floor than originally intended? What’s next for the minimum wage – or should the priority for change now move elsewhere? And what lessons can be learnt from the way the minimum wage was introduced and the role the Low Pay Commission has played over the past quarter-century for designing policy in future?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to mark the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the minimum wage. Following a presentation on the impact of the minimum wage on the labour market, we will hear from leading experts on what’s next for the minimum wage and lessons for other policy areas.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/labour-market-outlook-q2-2024/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/setting-a-high-bar/
Friday Mar 22, 2024
Friday Mar 22, 2024
A toxic combination of 15 years of low growth, and four decades of high inequality, has left Britain poorer and falling behind its peers. Wages today are no higher than they were before the financial crisis, and England’s biggest cities beyond London all have productivity levels below the national average. Britain needs a new economic strategy to lift itself out of stagnation.
In many ways, Bristol reflects the challenges facing the country as a whole. It has long been a hub for high-value aerospace manufacturing and also has considerable strengths in services, including education, creative industries and green technology. But it also faces considerable challenges – from poor public transport to high housing costs – that limits growth and reduces living standards. Harnessing the city’s many strengths will be critical to meeting the economic challenges of the coming years, but Bristol won’t truly thrive unless all its citizens benefit from growth and investment.
The Budget on 6th March was the Government’s last chance to shape the economic agenda before the next election – and rise to the challenge of boosting prosperity.
What should a new national economic strategy for Britain include? How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? What are the prospects for cities like Bristol in rising to these daunting but reachable challenges? And has the Budget helped or hindered Britain’s economic prospects?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting this event in collaboration with Bristol Ideas and Business West to debate Britain’s future economic strategy, building on the analysis of The Economy 2030 Inquiry – a three-year collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. We will be joined by leading experts from policy and business in the region to discuss how different areas of the UK – particularly in Bristol and the South West – can secure widely shared prosperity.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/boosting-prosperity-in-britain/
Friday Mar 22, 2024
Friday Mar 22, 2024
Book launch for The Longevity Imperative by Professor Andrew J Scott
Britain, along with many other countries, is getting older and living longer. This demographic shift has huge health, economic and societal impacts, but too often the debate is limited to the fiscal costs of an ageing society, and pressures on the NHS. Instead we need to take a broader view of the changes this will bring, and the changes we can shape so that people live not just longer lives, but happier and healthier ones too.
What has happened to life expectancy, what is likely to happen and what constitutes the longevity imperative? What are the economic consequences of this in terms of the public finances, productivity and the labour market? What can we do to age better? And how might this change how we live our longer lives?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to mark the new launch of Andrew Scott’s new book The Longevity Imperative, and to debate and answer these questions.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/living-life-to-the-full/
Friday Mar 08, 2024
Game changer? Assessing the Budget’s economic, and electoral, impact
Friday Mar 08, 2024
Friday Mar 08, 2024
The upcoming Spring Budget may be the last big fiscal event before the General Election, one of few chances for the government to set the terms of the economic debate. And with the government trailing heavily in the polls, and the economy entering a mild recession at the end of last year, the pressure is on to make it a game-changing Budget economically and electorally. But the Chancellor will also have to confront real trade-offs if he’s deliver a Budget that works for both the next six months, and the five years after that.
How big are the Chancellor’s tax cuts? Do they change the big picture of the government’s wider tax raising plans? What is the outlook for public services after the election? Where does the government plan to take the social security system, as it copes with rising numbers of us being sick or disabled? And will any of this make any difference to who forms the next government, and what they’re able to do?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the Resolution Foundation’s overnight analysis of Spring Budget 2024, we’ll hear from leading experts on what the Budget means for the election, and the economy.
Read the overnight analysis: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/back-for-more/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/game-changer/
Wednesday Mar 06, 2024
Wednesday Mar 06, 2024
A toxic combination of 15 years of low growth, and four decades of high inequality, has left Britain poorer and falling behind its peers. Productivity growth is weak and public investment is low, while wages today are no higher than they were before the financial crisis. Britain needs a new economic strategy to lift itself out of stagnation.
Nottingham is in many ways a microcosm of this national challenge. It has become a hub for creative industries in the East Midlands, serving as the headquarters for major firms like Games Workshop, as well as global giants like Boots and e.on. The city’s many strengths – including the world-class university and services firms – must be harnessed to meet the economic challenges of the coming years. But it also has high levels of deprivation, and won’t be truly thriving unless it finds ways to ensure that all its inhabitants benefit from growth and investment.
What should a new national economic strategy for Britain include? How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? And what are the prospects for cities like Nottingham, regions like the East Midlands, and nations like Britain to be able to rise to these challenges?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting this event with the Institute for Policy and Engagement at the University of Nottingham to debate Britain’s future economic strategy, building on the analysis of The Economy 2030 Inquiry – a three-year collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. We will be joined by leading experts from policy and business in the region to discuss how different areas of the UK – particularly Nottingham and the wider East Midlands region – can secure widely shared prosperity.
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/ending-stagnation-nottingham/
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
The rising prevalence of mental health problems among young people over recent decades is becoming increasingly concerning. While evidently distressing for the young people and their families, periods of poor mental health can also have significant detrimental impacts on their education and job prospects. Increasing support provided in schools and universities has gone some way to address this – but gaps remain, particularly in colleges and workplaces, while young people who want to return to education once their health has improved can often struggle.
How has the prevalence of mental health problems in young people changed in recent years? Which cohorts in particular are most likely to experience declines in mental health? How can periods of poor mental health affect young people’s education and labour market outcomes? And what support should policymakers put in place to help young people into good-quality jobs?
The Resolution Foundation – as part of the Young people’s future health inquiry, in partnership with The Health Foundation– is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the final report for this project, which draws on the experiences of young people shared in our focus groups, we will hear from leading experts.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/weve-only-just-begun/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/healthy-starts/