Information Bulletin

Summary of News and Publications from the Week ending 30 August 2013

Poverty
'Greater Expectations' is a new report from the National Childrens Bureau (NCB), which compares data on different aspects of children's lives today with a ground breaking study of 11-year olds published in 1973. It finds that significantly more children grow up in poverty today, 3.5m compared to 2m. A child from a disadvantaged background is still far less likely to achieve a good level of development at age 4. Press release and full report. 40 years on the Born to Fail report on child poverty from the National Childrens Bureau, this article asks where now for the next generation? A new IPPR report examines the sandwich generation where women are working and trying to provide care for both grandchildren and elderly parents. The report recommends more progressive policies on parental leave and flexible working, such as those seen in other European countries for example the family caring time scheme in Germany allows eligible employees to reduce their working week to a minimum of 15 hours for a period up to two years if they need to care for a dependent. Reciprocal time-banking solutions such as those used in Japan could also help people with caring responsibilities, especially those who live at a distance from the elderly family members. The Sandwich Generation: Older women balancing work and care. Of the 2 million care workers in the UK, an estimated 220,000 are being paid below the minimum wage, according to a new report from the Resolution Foundation. The report makes recommendations for tightening employment conditions as well as ending work schedules which sacrifice quality of care with too many appointments. Does it pay to Care? Any employers who pay less than the minimum wage will be named from October 2013 previously, employers had to hit a threshold of money owed in order to be named. Financial penalties will remain the same. In April to June 2013 there were 3.5 million workless households in the UK which have at least one member aged 16 to 64 where no-one was currently working. This represented 17.1% of households, the lowest since these records began in 1996, and was a fall of 0.7% on a year earlier. The number of children in workless households was 1.6 million, or 14% of all children and of these, 65% were living in single-parent households. A cultural shift is needed towards workers with caring responsibilities, according to the Supporting Working Carers Report from the Department of Health. It recommends that employers should recognise the need to commit to flexible working for these employees and revisit their employment policies in order to save tax-payers money, lessen the risk of losing valuable, experienced workers. The report claims that better support for working carers could save taxpayers 1.3 billion a year. It looks at systems in other European countries, including government subsidised voucher scheme for buying in domestic services (not personal care).

Calls to ban zero hour contracts are misplaced, according to a new report from the Work Foundation. The report concludes that zero hours contracts can suit some people and also where work is so erratic it may be the only way for an employer to offer work. There are no figures, however, to show how many people on ZHCs have taken them out of choice or necessity. Flexibility or insecurity? Exploring the rise in zero hours contracts.

Place
Homes for Forgotten Families: Towards a mainstream shared ownership market - Shelter's new report shares its vision for a new shared-ownership market, which would allow families on low to middle incomes to buy a share in a home and pay rent on the remainder. It would offer families the flexibility to buy different levels of share, and would operate much more like the mainstream mortgage market. The market would work with established property portals, involve mainstream brokers to help families look at the options, and have access to a range of mortgages offered by mainstream lenders. John Dunn of housing association Bolton at Home, looks at the pros and cons of no eviction and no homelessness policies being adopted by some social landlords in the face of the bedroom tax. The number of new homes built in Scotland has fallen 14% since last year, with falls across both private and social sector housing. A Council Tax discount is to be applied for all household annexes used by the occupiers of the main building or by their immediate family members including parents and teenagers. This is intended to support extended families. Currently, exemptions for Council Tax for annexes only apply to dependents aged 65 and over. Why are housing associations and social media still not walking hand in hand? - Blog. Regeneration in London is pushing low and middle income families out of their area article by Dr Loretta Lees of Kings College London. Film with highlights of the CIH Housing 2013 conference. An MSP says the new tariff structure agreed by Ofgem will penalise households in fuel poverty.

An Ageing Society
Governments should create a holistic elderly policy rather than differentiate between welfare, health, housing and social care, according to a new report. The report gathers comments and opinions from 46 thought leaders, professionals and practitioners in the aged care sector in various countries. An Uncertain Age : Reimagining long term care in the 21st Century. TUC analysis shows that millions of people from less advantaged areas, will receive less state pension in the coming years, because their life expectancy is not keeping pace with the rising state pension age. Younger workers may be faster at repetitive tasks, older workers are often faster at more complex tasks where skills and experience come into play, according to a literature review for Age UK by the University of Essex. This concurs with two research reports from Germany based on older workers in the motor manufacturing industry. A new study finds volunteering is good for longevity, lower levels of depression and overall well-being.

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.