Information Bulletin

Summary of News and Publications from the Week ending 14 June 2013

JRF Activity
Blog from Helen Barnard Is more work the solution to in-work poverty? Blog from Conor DArcy - 300,000 more children in absolute poverty than last year and its likely to get worse. Blog from Dave Potter - Improving residents lives during welfare reform changes. Blog from Helen Barnard - Talk of men deserts doesnt help families or break down gender stereotyping at work.

Poverty
Quick summary of selected responses to latest HBAI (Households Below Average Income) figures via Storify. The latest figures for Households Below Average Income (HBAI) show that 900,000 people moved into poverty in 2011/12. Absolute child poverty grew by 300,000 to 2.6 million (Before Housing Costs), a rise of 2% to 20%, while After Housing Costs figures rose to 3.8 million, a rise of 2% to 29%. Absolute child poverty is predicted to reach 27.2% by 2020/21. The proportion of children in poverty who live in working families rose from 60% to 66%. Relative child poverty for 2011/12 was unchanged compared to the previous year at 2.3 million (BHC) (17%) and 3.5 million (27%) (AHC). Average median household income in 2011-12 fell by 2.8%, while income inequality was broadly unchanged as incomes across the range fell by similar amounts. Absolute and relative poverty among children and working-age adults is predicted to increase, while pensioners are likely to fare better. These are the findings of a new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, funded by the JRF, based on the new HBAI figures. Living Standards, Poverty and Inequality 2013. 64% of respondents in a new poll for the End Child Poverty campaign, felt the Government should be doing more to tackle child poverty and 48% felt child poverty would increase in the next five years. A new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies calculates that the last five years has seen wages fall in the UK more than any other comparable five year period. Lone parents and older people have stayed in the employment market during this recession, increasing the competition for jobs and making workers more willing to accept lower wages. Unemployment has not risen as much as in previous recessions, but productivity has fallen sharply, especially in smaller firms, attributed to a fall in investment inside small companies. Article in full. The Expert Working Group on Welfare in Scotland has published its report for Scottish Ministers, which looks at the costs, delivery, transition and priorities for welfare in the event of constitutional change.

New labour market figures for the UK show the unemployment rate for February to April 2013 was 7.8%, unchanged from the November-January quarter, while the number of people who are unemployed was down 5,000 at 2.51 million. For the first time, the number of people aged 65 and over in employment reached 1 million. The unemployment rate for 1624 year olds was 20.5%, down 0.7%. Scotland unemployment fell by 6,000 and the unemployment rate dropped by 0.3 % to 7.1%. Wales unemployment remained unchanged compared to the previous quarter. Northern Ireland the unemployment rate fell by 0.6% to fall in line with the UK rate of 7.8%. Unemployment figures explained interesting article from BBC News. The UKs total pay packet has fallen by 7.5% over the last five years, according to new analysis by the TUC. Some regions, including the North West, South West, West Midlands and Scotland have seen a fall of 10% or more. The analysis is part of the TUCs new campaign Britain Needs a Pay Rise. A report from IPPR on the future of higher education recommends the use of a pupil premium to incentivise recruitment of students from low-participation areas or who have received free school meals. It also recommends that institutions should be able to recruit unlimited numbers of students eligible for the pupil premium and advocates a return to polytechnics to boost vocational learning. As lone parent numbers rise, a new report from Centre for Social Justice looks at the social and financial costs of children growing up without a father and without sufficient male role models. One in four primary schools has no male teachers according to the report. The working group will spend the next year drawing up recommendations aimed at removing barriers to family stability to be published before the 2015 election. Fractured Families: why stability matters.

Place
The Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) has published a discussion paper which sets out the principles for changing the social housing regulatory framework for social housing in England. Protecting social housing assets in a more diverse sector. Shelter is campaigning to end letting agency fees. A quarter of renters surveyed by Shelter have had to borrow money to pay for letting agency fees in the last three years, while one sixth had cut down on heating or food to afford the fees. A third of letting agencies surveyed by Shelter charged renters more than 400 to set up a tenancy agreement on top of deposits and advance rent. People aged 30-44 are moving from rural to urban areas, according to analysis by the National Housing Federation (NHF), with 9% leaving over the last decade. At the same time, rural house prices have increased dramatically, rising 82% in ten years pay in rural areas, however has risen 17% slower than urban areas in the last 5 years. 36 councils call on the Government to abandon the bedroom tax. Mortgage interest rates are predicted to fall this year, as new lenders are expected to enter the market, attracted by cheap loans from the Bank of England. A new report from the London Assembly recommends a series of measures to improve the rented sector in the capital. These include using social lettings agencies in London to incentivise landlords to stabilise rents, making it easier for landlords to access improvement funds to raise the standard of housing and better regulation of agents to encourage longer

tenancies. Rent reform Making London's private rented sector fit for purpose. The Scottish Housing Minister has announced that Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS) funding has been allocated to all Scottish local authorities. 50 million of funding has been announced, which is expected to help lever around 125 million of investment from major utility companies to deliver the projects. Two points of view Change Minister Greg Barker and Friends of the Earths Andy Atkins talk about energy efficiency and fuel poverty. Article on a new eco-friendly housing development in Cardiff, which claims to have been built way beyond the current UK energy requirements, and includes a communal charging point for electric cars. Only 200 homes have signed up for loans through the Green Deal, since it started in January, from the 19,000 homes that have been assessed so far. Summary of roundtable discussion via Guardian Housing Network. In the face of the UK housing shortage, how can we create places where people can thrive?. Summary of the Guardian discussion on whether we should have fewer, larger housing associations. The Assembly Committee for Social Development held their first meeting last week, in conjunction with the Housing Rights Service, to look at the increasing levels of repossessions in Northern Ireland. 36,206 affordable housing starts were delivered in England in 2012/13, double the number started in 2011/12. Affordable housing completions, however, were 29% lower than the previous year at 36,672. Figures are from the Department for Communities and Local Government.

An Ageing Society
Extra Care housing can play a vital role in reducing the isolation and loneliness of older people, and this evidence must be used to persuade policymakers to make it available to larger numbers of people, concludes a report from the International Longevity Centre. The concept of Personal Care Savings Bonds is to be presented to the House of Lords this week the proposal comes from a new discussion paper by Professor Les Mayhew and Dr David Smith of City University London in partnership with the International Longevity Centre. PCSBs would be bought at a nominal price by any adult and would accumulate interest as well as pay monthly prizes, similar to premium bonds, which can be reinvested. Deposits would only be redeemable on being assessed as needing social care, or on death. Guardian article from York councillor Tracey Simpson-Laing on making York a dementia friendly city. Norman Lamb, Minister for Care and Support, is seeking recommendations from leading organisations on how to reform the home care system in a summit this week. Personal Independence Payments, replacing Disability Living Allowance, started rolled out across the rest of England, Scotland and Wales this week, following a pilot scheme. Northern Ireland will make the change in the autumn.

A survey of affluent households (income above 150,000), showed that only a third of respondents from the UK are prepared to financially support elderly relatives, compared to two thirds in France.

This Information Bulletin is produced on a weekly basis as an update for staff at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT) for the purposes of their work it is not intended to be comprehensive but represents a selection of news and reports appearing in the last week. The items contained in this Bulletin are for information only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the JRF and JRHT.