Policy area: Welfare

Reports

False starts

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation examines what the UK’s growing NEETs problem really looks like and how to fix it. Nearly one million young people aged 16-24 in the UK are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET) – the highest level in over a decade. While the Government’s new...

Read more

Splitting the bill

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation examines how the government can help families with high energy bills. This briefing note looks into the drivers of Britain’s stubbornly high household energy bills and how reform of the costs added onto bills offers a route for helping families with the cost of living this...

Read more

Healthy places, inclusive growth: Realising the potential of devolution

This report from UK think tank the Growth and Reform Network looks at how national policy can help realise the potential of devolution. Population health is currently a major policy concern in the UK. At an individual level, health is a fundamental precursor to economic participation, and poor health has consistently been recognised as a...

Read more

Ladders of opportunity: How top UK businesses create new routes into work

This report from UK think tank the Jobs Foundation shows how businesses are creating the vital 'rungs' that help people climb into stable employment. The Government’s Get Britain Working white paper is a big step in the right direction towards helping to create the two million jobs our economy needs to keep these ladders open...

Read more

The case for contribution

This report from UK think tank Labour Together looks at the ethics and expectation of contribution. This essay, by Labour Together’s chief policy adviser, Morgan Wild, argues that this Labour government should root itself in an ethic and expectation of contribution: the actions we take that make other people better off. This can be work,...

Read more

What price is free?

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Policy Research examines the evolution of nursery prices in England in the wake of 2024 childcare reform. A major expansion of free childcare entitlement in England is currently underway. The policy has significantly expanded the number of parents who are eligible to receive childcare, as well...

Read more

Set for life

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at policies to boost the retirement savings of the self-employed. The low share of self-employed workers saving into private pensions and problematic saving behaviours amongst many who are, is leading to concerns that large numbers of self-employed workers are on track for inadequate retirement...

Read more

Don’t forget about us

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation explores how disabilities and caring responsibilities impact the lives of lower-income Britain. Disability disproportionately affects the poorer half of Britain. But to fully understand the impact on families, we need to consider not only those directly affected but also the friends and family members who may...

Read more

Unequal returns

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Social Justice sets out the case for reforming the Pupil Premium. Since its introduction in 2011, over £27 billion has been allocated to mainstream schools across England through the Pupil Premium (PP) – a policy designed to raise attainment for disadvantaged pupils through targeted funding. Yet...

Read more

Change the prescription: update

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Social Justice builds on their landmark report, to offer a new plan to all political parties. Few issues are as explosive in British politics as welfare reform. But just as the smell of cordite following the blazing row over winter fuel payments is wafting away, an...

Read more

School exclusions tracker

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Social Justice examines the crisis of bad behaviour disrupting classrooms. There is a crisis of bad behaviour disrupting classrooms. The latest government data reveals a shocking 21 per cent increase in suspensions and 16 per cent increase in permanent exclusions. Government and schools have an important...

Read more

Caught in a trap?

This report from UK think tank PBE explores low wellbeing in the UK today. What comprises a decent life? It’s a hard question to definitively answer, with any individual’s response likely to differ from their neighbour’s (and even from their own answer five years in the future). Money is, of course, an important factor, and...

Read more

Going it alone

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Policy Research examines the experiences of self-employed Universal Credit claimants. When Universal Credit (UC) is fully rolled out in 2026, the proportion of claims with one or more self-employed earners is expected to reach around one in ten, equivalent to around 700,000 households. Self-employed people therefore...

Read more

Guarantee of potential

This report from UK think tank Localis argues that local authorities must now lead the response to tackling worklessness. Tackling worklessness, long a stated goal yet persistently unmet by government, has become a structural crisis demanding locally driven reform. With over nine million economically inactive working-age adults, the challenge stems from overlapping issues: long-term illness,...

Read more

The good, the bad and the messy

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation examines the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation. This week marks an important moment for this Government’s welfare reform plans: as Parliament prepares to vote on major legislation to make cuts to PIP and UC-Health, the consultation on longer-term changes to the benefits system, set out...

Read more