The current high levels of sickness and absence from work are unsustainable. There are costs to individuals, businesses and the Government. So why does only 11% of the UK population have any form of income protection insurance and what could an increase in this figure mean for all concerned?
During the recent recession, the low skilled and young adults suffered the most putting an increasing strain on the benefit system. Professor Sir Richard Blundell argues a focus on productivity and tax reform are the key to raising living standards while tax reform needs to address top income inequality.
Soft skills are said to be worth £88 billion a year to UK businesses. So why don’t we value them and why aren’t we investing in them?
There is an increasing pressure to devolve more power to the regions in the wake of the Scottish referendum. Many argue that centralised control results in a “one size fits all” approach to regional policy which is no longer relevant. A new report calls for a more targeted and tailored approach.
The attainment gap between rich and poor remains stubbornly wide. Reducing it will take time but, in the meantime, improving the quality of teaching and making it more relevant to the needs of poorer children could have a significant effect on raising their attainment.
When it comes to work, what is the picture when it comes to women from an ethnic minority background and their White counterparts? Are there implications for income and poverty within different ethnic groups and for those battling poverty?
With racism is on the rise and poverty higher among all ethnic minority groups than white British people, can we afford to ignore the links between poverty and ethnicity?
The mental health of our children has been seriously neglected in recent years. Schools are struggling to cope and while support mechanisms exist, they are neither fully understood or utilised.
Family incomes fell during the recession – but the cost of raising a child went up. How have the lives of the poorest families been affected, and how are they coping now? Donald Hirsch says new research will help provide some of the answers.
By 2018 all employers must introduce automatic pensions enrolment. Kate Downer of RS Consulting researched the experiences of early adopters and found more employees saving for retirement.
