Latest news with #ResolutionFoundation
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
OPINION - I can barely afford rent – and I'm a privileged journalist with a job
About £600 a month. That's what I was paying back in 2020 for a three-bedroom flat in Queen's Road Peckham (Zone 2, no Tube) in 2020. Admittedly, it didn't have a living room and the bathroom was permanently green with mould – but on the plus side I had a personal balcony (read: awkward triangle of cement). Once, I even woke up to my housemate traipsing back through the balcony door, having used my room as a pathway whilst I was dead to the world. I can tell you now that this sort of unwelcome early-hours intrusion is not something you forget quickly – though I had to forgive him as the poor guy had 'nowhere else to go to smoke his zoot'. Anyway five years later, I'm paying over £300 more than that per month, and I live just a few doors down from the Weed Crime Scene. My salary has increased a little, thank god, but has it gone up by 50%? No. My room is only a little larger than a coffin in this new gaff, although I do have a pet in the form of a little mouse who has proved more sociable than at least one of my housemates – and who has an aptitude for acrobatics (alarmingly long jumping off the kitchen counter when I walk into the room, for instance). London rents have risen by 35 per cent since the beginning of the pandemic I'm not alone and I know I have it better than many others in my generation (and of course, this is a very privileged complaint to make when you consider the increasing number of people in temporary accommodation or no housing at all due to this country's housing crisis). London rents have risen by 35 per cent since the beginning of the pandemic, as new data from property website Rightmove shows. Since 2020, real mean earnings for employees in London have increased by approximately 5%, and middle earners in London have seen a smaller increase of around 1.7% . Note the difference? Times really are hard. The gap between wages and rents growth in recent years has created an affordability gap of £720, according to Felicia Odamtten, an economist at the Resolution Foundation. It's really no wonder that nowadays I spend over half my salary on rent and I'm definitely not saving anything. My situation is not even wildly abnormal. The average London renter spends around 49% of their household income on rent, which is a figure considered unaffordable by official standards. It's worse for recent grads, who earn on average between £32,000 and £38,000 (not all of them, though, surely). I thought I'd come across a sweet deal, but it turned out another potential housemate was a heroin user Anecdotally speaking, it is not uncommon for people to now be paying well over £1,200 a month for pretty crappy properties with weird flatmates in undesirable areas. Recently I went to have a look round a flat in north London. It seemed pretty sweet – nice housemates, reasonable sized room, functioning oven – until I found out another potential housemate was a heroin user. Before you cry Gen Z moaning, this isn't that. One in five privately rented homes in London don't meet basic health and safety requirements, according to think tank the Centre for London, while 41% of Londoners have experienced mould in their homes. Gross. Often, it's far worse than this (a full on ground floor flood, mushrooms growing in the toilets, a slug infestation, frost on the inside of windows and a partial roof implosion all spring to mind). The calibre has turned places from homes into hovels. Some people are so desperate at this point that they are even jumping onto rat-infested canal boats, as my colleague did, with disastrous consequences. All this has been documented before. And whilst I don't want to come across as whiney, in the last five years specifically, the effects of the rental crisis have now become cultural. A lack of disposable income is threatening the future of London's social fabric. People go out less, are generally stingy and fear for the future. People in their 30s are moving back in with their parents - which would be fine, except they usually don't want to. Whilst it's true that in general people are richer than they were decades ago – millennials and generation Zs still know they will be poorer than their parents. JOMO (joy of missing out) is the new FOMO. For context, the salary-to-rent ratio was closer to 30% in the 1990s. And on top of this, real costs of food, fuel and transport have skyrocketed. Supermarket prices are now predicted to have shot up by 40% from 2020 to 2025. All this is not exactly a stimulating atmosphere for culture. In such a climate it's hardly surprising nightclubs are at risk and pubs are closing at a rate of one per day. A lot of it is down to people simply not feeling they have the dosh to spend. We often don't. So no wonder Londoners are swapping dancefloors for DMs. Of course, there are also far more serious consequences of unaffordable housing than affluent yuppies' disposable income and ability to pay for pints. Homelessness is rising, as people become unable to pay these sky high rents – there was an eight per cent increase in homelessness in the year to 2025 as well as a big jump in people in work who are without a home. Is the future doomed? To fix this godforsaken mess, the government needs to increase the supply of homes. It needs to build more homes – without ditching social housing requirements. But it has known this for a long time and the early signs of the Labour government are frankly not promising. The situation does not look like it will be resolving anytime soon. I'm no longer living with the bedroom-invading weed smoker – he has fled to Manchester, where rents are just a little more bearable (though rising rapidly). I, however, feel my fate is tied to this city for now. Sigh. Lucy Kenningham is Comment Editor at The Standard
Telegraph
27-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Labour's delusional think tanks are making a bad situation worse
We need more rights for workers who fall sick, according to the Resolution Foundation this week. We need more protection for the environment before building homes according to the Wildlife Trust. And we need higher taxes on capital and wealth according to CenTax, a key adviser to the Chancellor. Over the past few weeks, the handful of think tanks that dominate Labour politics have been busier than ever. There is just one problem. They are all completely delusional. By constantly pushing pet Labour causes such as more workers' rights, more regulation and higher taxes, they keep shifting the party to the Left – and they are rapidly bankrupting the country. It has been another busy few weeks for the wonks who come up with the policy ideas that feed into the Government machine. The Resolution Foundation put out a report urging the Government to give more rights to workers on sick leave, and make it harder to fire people when they are off work on account of ill health. The Wildlife Trust, along with Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds and the National Trust, have been pressuring ministers to strengthen the protection of the environment as its planning reform bill goes through Parliament. Meanwhile CenTax, the tax research organisation that provided much of the inspiration for closing the non-dom rules, is as busy as ever with reports on reforming, otherwise known as increasing, inheritance tax and the levies on private equity, while the Fabian Society has been urging a £2,000 a year pay rise for care workers. Sure, it is perfectly possible to make a well-meaning case for any of the policies taken in isolation. Given that more than four million people, or 10pc of the working age population, are now on sickness benefits we probably do need to do more to encourage them back into work, and extra rights may well help with that. But what happens if a company is in deep financial trouble, needs to slim down the workforce, but can't lay off the people who have been off work with stress or anxiety for months? It won't be able to, and may go bust instead. We might all agree that individual species and the environment need to be protected. But planning reform is a flagship policy for this Government, and probably its only remaining chance of getting the economy growing again, and giving a handful of pressure groups an effective veto over what can and can't be built will kill that stone dead. CenTax still seems to be oddly influential within the Treasury given that last year its analysis was that abolishing non-dom status would raise a net £3.6bn for the Treasury, and not, as it turned out, that the flights to Dubai and the Caribbean would suddenly be packed with wealthy foreign entrepreneurs and investors fleeing Britain. Meanwhile, we would probably all like to see care workers get a pay rise, especially as we need to stop the sector relying so heavily on cheap, imported labour. But given that local councils, which pay most of the bills, are going broke all around the country, it is hard to work out who is going to pay the bills for that? The think tanks feeding ideas into the Government apparatus have become completely delusional. None of them appears to recognise for a single moment that the UK is rapidly going broke. Only this week, the latest tax and borrowing statistics made it clear just how precarious the country's financial position has become. The Government had to tap the markets for an extra £20.6bn in June, far more than expected, and the second-highest June figure since records began. Over the first three months of this financial year we have borrowed another £57bn, and are well on track to hit £200bn over the course of the full 12 months. If the economy remains stagnant, and even more non-doms flee, and many more companies decide to slim down their workforce because they can't afford the extra National Insurance charges (and the figures are already coming in at less than was forecast) then the total will easily hit £250bn and perhaps more. There is only one word for that. Broke. Yet Labour's policy outriders appear to be operating on a completely different planet. The Government still has plenty of money. There are plenty of taxes that can still be easily raised without hitting working people or damaging the economy. There is ample room to borrow more and, if the Government does, the investment will pay for itself with faster growth. Even worse, they have become dangerously embedded in the Starmer administration. Torsten Bell, who used to run the Resolution Foundation, is now the pensions minister. Many of the Cabinet are members of the Fabian Society, while others have made an effortless transition from the think tanks to the backbenches and then into government. And special advisers who dominate policy-making typically have a background in one think tank or another. It is a network of influence with deep roots. The British economy faces plenty of threats right now. Donald Trump's very public battle with the Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell may crash the stock market and destabilise the dollar. Tariffs may plunge the eurozone into a recession hitting our biggest export market. The Chinese economy may finally tank. Or, more plausibly, the slow grind of ever-increasing taxes and the burden of constantly rising regulation may well mean the UK faces 25 years of near-zero growth, much as Italy has over the last quarter of a century. But the biggest threat may well turn out to be the so-called policy experts dreaming up yet more plans for tax and spending. They have become a danger to economic stability. And at the rate at which they are currently churning out expensive, unrealistic proposals, very soon they will bankrupt the country.
Daily Record
24-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
Disabled people could be helped back into work with new right similar to maternity law
The Resolution Foundation said around 12 per cent of disabled staff leave work each year, 1.5-times the rate of non-disabled workers. A new report suggests that people with disabilities could be helped back into work with similar protections as those for women returning from maternity leave. A new right to reintegration for workers on sick leave could see firms prevented from dismissing someone unless it is shown the employer has made sufficient efforts at reintegrating the person, the Resolution Foundation think tank said. They said such a right would 'would clarify and strengthen existing legal protections' under the Equality Act and 'provide a much stronger message to workers about what they are entitled to'. The report warned that the UK Government risks failing to meet its aim to raise the employment rate to 80 per cent without a 'serious strategy to shift employer behaviour' and argues employers must be incentivised to reintegrate existing workers back into jobs. The report comes in the same week as the Universal Credit Bill cleared the House of Lords, aimed at rebalancing the benefit 'to remove work disincentives', according to a Government minister, while giving existing claimants 'the security and certainty they need'. In its report, the Resolution Foundation said around 12 per cent of disabled staff leave work each year - consistently 1.5-times the rate of non-disabled workers. It added that twice as many people move from work into inactivity due to ill health - around 304,000 each year - than those moving the other way (around 151,000). But the think tank said despite there being 'strong' legal obligations in place already on employers, they are 'simply not doing enough to retain existing workers', with fewer than half of disabled workers who request a reasonable adjustment - which can include a change to working arrangements or provision of equipment, services or support - having this granted in full. With 15 per cent of disabled people reporting workplace discrimination relating to their disability in 2022, the report said this remains a 'pressing issue'. The think tank said: 'Boosting disability employment is not straightforward: it will involve improvements to the health system, benefits system and world of work. But action to incentivise and support employers is a vital piece of the puzzle.' Louise Murphy, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: 'The Government should do more to incentivise firms to employ disabled people - especially those who have been out of work for long periods - but employers need to do more in return. 'A new right to reintegration could help disabled workers back into work in the same way that maternity rights transformed women's employment prospects a generation ago.' The foundation said the new right could be enforced through employment tribunals, but urged the Government to also consider 'more proactive enforcement mechanisms, whether via the Equalities and Human Rights Commission or connected to a new system of caseworkers that are expected to be covered in the forthcoming Mayfield Review'. Former John Lewis boss, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is undertaking a review to investigate how Government and businesses can work together to support ill and disabled people into work, with a report expected in autumn. The Government has been contacted for comment.
Powys County Times
24-07-2025
- Health
- Powys County Times
Disabled could be helped back into work with new right similar to maternity law
People with disabilities could be helped back into work with similar protections as those for women returning from maternity leave, a new report has suggested. A new right to reintegration for workers on sick leave could see firms prevented from dismissing someone unless it is shown the employer has made sufficient efforts at reintegrating the person, the Resolution Foundation think tank said. They said such a right would 'would clarify and strengthen existing legal protections' under the the Equality Act and 'provide a much stronger message to workers about what they are entitled to'. The report warned that the Government risks failing to meet its aim to raise the employment rate to 80% without a 'serious strategy to shift employer behaviour' and argues employers must be incentivised to reintegrate existing workers back into jobs. The report comes in the same week as the Universal Credit Bill cleared the House of Lords, aimed at rebalancing the benefit 'to remove work disincentives', according to a Government minister, while giving existing claimants 'the security and certainty they need'. Separately during the debate, Paralympic champion Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, who sits in the Lords, said disabled people have been portrayed as 'benefit scroungers and a drain on society' in the conversation on welfare reform. In its report, the Resolution Foundation said around 12% of disabled staff leave work each year – consistently 1.5-times the rate of non-disabled workers. It added that twice as many people move from work into inactivity due to ill health – around 304,000 each year – than those moving the other way (around 151,000). But the think tank said despite there being 'strong' legal obligations in place already on employers, they are 'simply not doing enough to retain existing workers', with fewer than half of disabled workers who request a reasonable adjustment – which can include a change to working arrangements or provision of equipment, services or support – having this granted in full. With 15% of disabled people reporting workplace discrimination relating to their disability in 2022, the report said this remains a 'pressing issue'. The think tank said: 'Boosting disability employment is not straightforward: it will involve improvements to the health system, benefits system and world of work. But action to incentivise and support employers is a vital piece of the puzzle.' Louise Murphy, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: 'The Government should do more to incentivise firms to employ disabled people – especially those who have been out of work for long periods – but employers need to do more in return. 'A new right to reintegration could help disabled workers back into work in the same way that maternity rights transformed women's employment prospects a generation ago.' The foundation said the new right could be enforced through employment tribunals, but urged the Government to also consider 'more proactive enforcement mechanisms, whether via the Equalities and Human Rights Commission or connected to a new system of caseworkers that are expected to be covered in the forthcoming Mayfield Review'. Former John Lewis boss, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is undertaking a review to investigate how Government and businesses can work together to support ill and disabled people into work, with a report expected in autumn.
North Wales Chronicle
24-07-2025
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
Disabled could be helped back into work with new right similar to maternity law
A new right to reintegration for workers on sick leave could see firms prevented from dismissing someone unless it is shown the employer has made sufficient efforts at reintegrating the person, the Resolution Foundation think tank said. They said such a right would 'would clarify and strengthen existing legal protections' under the the Equality Act and 'provide a much stronger message to workers about what they are entitled to'. The report warned that the Government risks failing to meet its aim to raise the employment rate to 80% without a 'serious strategy to shift employer behaviour' and argues employers must be incentivised to reintegrate existing workers back into jobs. The report comes in the same week as the Universal Credit Bill cleared the House of Lords, aimed at rebalancing the benefit 'to remove work disincentives', according to a Government minister, while giving existing claimants 'the security and certainty they need'. Separately during the debate, Paralympic champion Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, who sits in the Lords, said disabled people have been portrayed as 'benefit scroungers and a drain on society' in the conversation on welfare reform. In its report, the Resolution Foundation said around 12% of disabled staff leave work each year – consistently 1.5-times the rate of non-disabled workers. It added that twice as many people move from work into inactivity due to ill health – around 304,000 each year – than those moving the other way (around 151,000). But the think tank said despite there being 'strong' legal obligations in place already on employers, they are 'simply not doing enough to retain existing workers', with fewer than half of disabled workers who request a reasonable adjustment – which can include a change to working arrangements or provision of equipment, services or support – having this granted in full. With 15% of disabled people reporting workplace discrimination relating to their disability in 2022, the report said this remains a 'pressing issue'. The think tank said: 'Boosting disability employment is not straightforward: it will involve improvements to the health system, benefits system and world of work. But action to incentivise and support employers is a vital piece of the puzzle.' Louise Murphy, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: 'The Government should do more to incentivise firms to employ disabled people – especially those who have been out of work for long periods – but employers need to do more in return. 'A new right to reintegration could help disabled workers back into work in the same way that maternity rights transformed women's employment prospects a generation ago.' The foundation said the new right could be enforced through employment tribunals, but urged the Government to also consider 'more proactive enforcement mechanisms, whether via the Equalities and Human Rights Commission or connected to a new system of caseworkers that are expected to be covered in the forthcoming Mayfield Review'. Former John Lewis boss, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is undertaking a review to investigate how Government and businesses can work together to support ill and disabled people into work, with a report expected in autumn. The Government has been contacted for comment.
