New: Poverty and inadequate income are major drivers of young people becoming NEET- not in employment education or training 📈Persistent poverty triples the risk of not earning or learning 👛Inadequate income holds young people back from returning to earning or learning

📣 new from @jrf-uk.bsky.social Community spaces, groups and activities are essential. They build community resilience, and help us feel secure and able to take on life’s challenges. But this social infrastructure is under pressure and past policy has fallen short. We need a bold new approach ⬇️

This is good by @benzaranko.bsky.social on local housing allowance - one to watch at the budget as part of a strategy to end rough sleeping observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Burnham wants to end rough sleeping – but it will cost him

Just two in every 100 new property listings on Zoopla are affordable for those on housing benefit since Labour twice froze the cap

observer.co.uk

The PM has described his changes to technical education as not just an education reform but a different approach to welfare too. It's refreshing, and he's right. Tackling the failures that put pressure on our welfare system is the route to popular and lasting change. 1/3

A record number of families are going without the essentials, our research finds. That's 7.4 million households. New PM Andy Burnham has promised to put tackling the cost of living "front and centre" of his government. Bold policy choices are needed to make that happen:

Burnham wants a 'fair and sustainable' approach to welfare. That means targeting the underlying causes of people's need to claim benefits - which is far more popular with the public (59%) than cutting eligibility (20%) or benefit rates (8%). 1/3

As debates rage about where to get the money for higher defence spending, it’s important we have a clear picture of how we spent the peace dividend while it was around. Thread 🧵⤵️

New stats seems to show the Government's Connect to Work programme, to help disabled people into work, has only helped half as many people as it expected in January. Decent results for those on it, but there's not enough on it. I say seems to, as it's so far off maybe I'm wrong. But I can't see how.

🧵 1/ The Milburn Review is right to sound the alarm 🚨 Rising numbers of young people out of work or education should concern all of us. This reflects deep, structural challenges - not a short-term blip.

Social security is carrying too much of the cost of economic failure elsewhere A policy reset is clearly needed In a new @jrf-uk.bsky.social paper, we argue that addressing the drivers of economic insecurity can sustainably ease pressure on the income safety net and improve living standards

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 4mo ago

Focus on jobs, not benefits, to cut welfare bill, says thinktank

📣 New from @jrf-uk.bsky.social Blunt cuts to social security don’t work- we need to tackle root causes of need. Hitting govt 80% employment target would reduce Universal Credit spend by £10bn Polling shows 59% public want causes to be tackled. Just 20% want restricted eligibility & 8% cut rates.

🚨 NEW! Our report out today concludes rent controls can ease the pressure on renters, without jeopardising the private rented sector. A rent control could: - Make renters nearly £1200 a year better off by 2030 - Reduce the housing benefit bill by £600m, even with annual LHA uprating Here's how 👇

Today, England's 11 million renters receive the biggest upgrade in their rights for a generation. Here are the top five reasons we're excited for the Renters' Rights Act to come into force 👇

Join us! This is a very important role, working with some brilliant analysts (and others!)

Joseph Rowntree Foundation@jrf-uk.bsky.social · 5mo ago

📢 We're hiring a Principal Policy Adviser to lead our Work and Care policy areas! Are you a visionary leader with the arguments, policies and ideas to address the challenges underpinning poverty in the UK? We'd love to hear from you! Full job description and application: https://bit.ly/4sTq807

450,000 children no longer in poverty - and may more in less severe poverty - as the two child limit is scrapped. A change that will see children supported when their family hits hard times, whether they are the 1st, 2nd or 3rd child to be born into their family. A good start for every child.

Today the two-child limit is gone. Parents have told us what this will mean for their kids: - A first-ever birthday party for a 10-year-old - Better quality food - Clothes that aren't completely worn out - Going on the school trip without getting into debt - A new mattress - Swimming lessons

The story in yesterday’s poverty data? A small rise in poverty in Labour’s first year, up by 500k to 13.4 million in 2024/25. ⬆️working-age adults in poverty went up by 300k ⬆️number of pensioner in poverty went up by 200k ↔️child poverty stayed flat. More action needed! 1/7

📊 A big change to the way official poverty statistics are constructed comes into effect this year. Family Resources Survey responses and official government benefit records will now be linked for the first time. 📝 In this short explainer video, we take you through what the changes mean.

🗣️ 'Not only is this a problem for individuals and families, it's a problem for our economy.' Hear from our Principal Policy Adviser @katieschmuecker.bsky.social in BBC Panorama's latest episode on the continuing cost of living crisis. 📹 Starts from 08:30 www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Panorama - Living without Life’s Little Luxuries

With the cost-of-living crisis still squeezing household budgets, Colletta Smith investigates the consequences for communities, jobs and everyday life.

bbc.co.uk

"Trusted with money and no conditions attached, the young people in our trial made choices that reduced their demand on crisis services across the board." ✍️ Writing for @bigissue.com, @michael-sanders.bsky.social argues our cash transfers study challenges traditional assumptions about welfare

How UK could save money by giving out cash – not cutting benefits

Benefit cuts and sanctions are often part of government reforms to save money – but studies show free cash handouts could be more effective.

bigissue.com

Pride in Place’s commitment to community-led investment in neighbourhood is so needed. But new JRF analysis maps the areas overlooked for funding in England: disproportionately in the north and some ranked as facing among the greatest challenges. They should be priority for expanding the programme.

Speedy analysis from @jrf-uk.bsky.social . This is how modelled household incomes evolve over the Parliament after deducting housing costs. It's a disappointing picture. Let's hope the Government beat the forecasts, although the headwinds from the current conflict shouldn't be underestimated.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation@jrf-uk.bsky.social · 7mo ago

🔔 New analysis alert! Our modelling finds that average annual household disposable incomes are projected to grow by just £40 over the course of the current parliament (from April 2024 to April 2029) after adjusting for inflation.

How has today's forecast affected the outlook for welfare spending? There has been little change, and considering spending as a share of GDP it does not look out of control.

More than two-thirds of households struggling to afford a decent life are in work. New research from @lborouniversity.bsky.social funded by JRF, sets out the scale of the problem. A 🧵

Decisions about the rate of benefits should be linked to the actual cost of essentials. Good to see parliamentarians calling out how arbitrary the current approach is ⤵️

Iain Porter@iainkporter.bsky.social · 7mo ago

As Parliament debates annual benefits 'uprating' today, great to see MPs calling out how arbitrary the process is. Support isn't linked to any calculation of essential costs, meaning 5 in 6 low-income families on Universal Credit going without essentials: labourlist.org/2026/02/valu...

🌞Today is a turning point, as legislation to remove the two child limit starts to make its way through parliament. The policy was a terrible idea. It drove poverty up and future prospects down. @jrf-uk.bsky.social has joined 65 orgs to urge all MPs to stand with children & support the Bill.

Got a question about @jrf-uk.bsky.social's Poverty in the UK 2026 report? Why not ask one of our analysts! They will be responding to questions 12-2 on Wednesday here: www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics...

From the ukpolitics community on Reddit: AMA: Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) responding to questions about their UK Poverty 2026 report. Wednesday 4th February 12:00 - 14:00

Explore this post and more from the ukpolitics community

reddit.com

A shocking fact about the UK benefits system ⬇️

Iain Porter@iainkporter.bsky.social · 8mo ago

MPs will soon debate the annual benefits ‘Uprating Order' on how much benefits rise this year. But shockingly, support has never been set according to any logical calculation, like ensuring Universal Credit covers life's essentials - which @jrf-uk.bsky.social estimates cost £120 a week🧵1/4

📣 Our new UK Poverty report is out! It shows very deep poverty (6.8m people) and child poverty (4.5m children) were both at record highs when Labour took power in 2024. It also shows how policy choices can change the picture… 🧵1/5

🗣️ 'The government came to power with a commitment to end the need for food banks. This promise really matters.' Our Principal Policy Adviser @katieschmuecker.bsky.social sets out the implications of 6.8 million people living in very deep poverty at the time of the last general election 🔽