JRF Activity: Information Bulletin

Information Bulletin
Summary of News and Publications from the Week ending 26 April 2013
JRF Activity
Managing the social risks of public spending in Scotland Report. Households below a minimum income standard: 2008/9 to 2010/11 Report. Recession pushes more young single people below minimum income standard - Blog from Katie Schmuecker. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation along with five other charities, has formed a coalition called the Ready for Ageing Alliance. It aims to push demographic change issues up the political agenda, influence policy to make the most of our ageing society and encourage cross party working on issues such as social care and pensions. The participating charities are JRF, Age UK, Anchor, the Centre for Policy on Ageing, Independent Age and the International Longevity Centre. Austerity in the UK Mary OHara talks to people living in a deprived area of Liverpool about their lives and their fears for the future. The Poverty Forum digital conference took place this week, led by JRF. Twitter: #povertyforum
Poverty
A new report looks at the key drivers of family fragility and tracks how 11 different families are managing in an age of austerity. Family Matters Understanding families in an age of austerity. The Markit UK Household Finance Index for April showed that households in social housing reported the worst finance index score for a year, with 45% indicating worsening household finances and just 2% seeing an improvement. Across all households, 32% reported deteriorating finances and 8% an improvement. In an interview with the chair and vice chair of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission Alan Milburn and Gillian Shephard, they both warn of the Governments lack of consistency and clarity in their approach to child poverty and urge for it to be put at the core of policies. Alan Milburn predicts that there is no chance the 2020 target on child poverty will be met. Almost three times as many women as men have become long term unemployed in the last two and a half years and womens unemployment has reached a 26 year high, while mens unemployment is falling. These are the findings of the latest report from the Fawcett Society The changing labour market: delivering for women, delivering for growth. One million people who are capable of work have been receiving benefits for at least three out of the last four years, claims a progress report on the Department for Work and Pensions social justice strategy. Political opponents claim the figure is nearer to 395,000. Social Justice: Transforming Lives One year on.
A poll by the Resolution Foundation found that 46% of respondents believe their living standards will fall over the next two years, 19% expect an improvement and 28% no change. Gross household disposable incomes (after tax and contributions) in the UK are lowest in Northern Ireland and Wales, according to figures released from the Office for National Statistics. In 2011, the GDHI per head for Northern Ireland was 13,966 and Wales 14,129, compared to a UK average of 16,034. The lowest figures for English regions were in Yorkshire & Humber and the North East at 13,819 and 13,560 respectively. The number of people turning to foodbanks tripled from 2011 to 2012, according to the Trussell Trust. The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission's response to the government's consultation on better measures for child poverty supports a multidimensional approach to measurement, but recommends that each dimension is separated out. Fewer than 2 in 5 people surveyed in a poll commissioned by educational charity TeachFirst, feel that disadvantaged children will ever reach equal attainment with those from wealthier backgrounds. Almost 60% also overestimated the percentage of children that qualify for free school meals, who achieve five GCSEs A*-C.
Place
The new Smith Institute report looks at the current pressures on housing associations and the issues they face going forwards. It concludes that better relationships will need to be forged with tenants, especially in the light of the welfare reforms. Social Hearted, Commercially Minded: a look at the housing associations of tomorrow. New ONS figures shows that home ownership dipped to 64% in 2011, from its peak of 69% in 2001. It represents the first fall for almost 100 years in home ownership accompanied by a rise in renting. The number of tenants in the private rented sector also doubled over the last decade. The Growth and Infrastructure Act became law this week, which, the Government says, will help to unblock stalled housing sites by allowing unrealistic development requirements to be reconsidered. The National Housing Federation (NHF) has been appointed to the new Health and Care Voluntary Strategic Partner Programme and has been hailed as recognition of the role housing plays in wellbeing. The panel brings together a range of voluntary sector organisations to input to policy and decision making for health, wellbeing and care. How Housing Associations can harness social media to engage with people in times of change, new paper from PR company Hopwood.
An Ageing Society
Housing providing Hanover has launched a debate about the future of housing, care and support for older people Hanover@50debate. As part of the debate, a new report from the Policy Exchange calls for better quality new housing that local residents will support, and building more properties suitable for older people to downsize to free up homes for families. Housing and Intergenerational Fairness. Twitter: #Hanover50
Ageing in the Middle is a Fabian Society paper as part of the Hanover@50debate (see above), looking at what life is like for older people with a middle income, and what this means for future policy and service design. The Government has launched a website, announced in last years care White Paper, where users and their families can review, rate and compare care services. NHS Choices will run alongside already launched commercial versions. Ed Miliband has launched an independent commission to investigate how to better integrate the NHS with social care. The Independent Commission on Whole-Person Care chair is Sir John Oldham, formerly the Department of Healths lead on quality, innovation and productivity. Age UKs annual conference For Later Life took places this week. Twitter: #forlaterlife A report looks at initiatives and incentives by governments and social partners in Europe to keep older workers in the labour market. Role of Governments and Social Partners in Keeping Older Workers in the Labour Market is from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. 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.

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