Very good to hear Louise Casey’s full throated support of Fair Pay Agreements to tackle endemic low pay in the care sector. Care workers, generally women, are grossly underpaid.
Our research at JRF also found that higher pay helps providers too, with fewer staff leaving.
Watching Louise Casey’s speech at @nuffieldtrust.org.uk Health Summit.
She traces the history of care from 1948, where Beveridge’s lack of focus on social care was in large part down to lower life expectancies & unpaid care.
That’s changed but she says ‘we haven’t looked it in the face’.
Julian Hartley has been named the next permanent Chief Executive of the @jrf-uk.bsky.social)/JRHT group. Most recently, Julian led the CQC. He will be based out of the group’s York headquarters and will start work on 5 May.
🤝 We will be supporting the APPG’s efforts to secure decent and affordable homes for every family, helping to build a future where homelessness is no longer an inevitability.
Read more: www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homel...
🏘️ We're proud to have joined @crisis-uk.bsky.social and others in the Steering Group for the APPG for Ending Homelessness.
Homelessness and rough sleeping are at record highs, private renters face exorbitant costs, and the supply of social homes remains far too low.
"Taking housing costs into account, JRF predicts a one-off boost this year, then a sharp fall in incomes by 2029"
Listen to @andyverity.bsky.social on the Today Programme discussing our analysis of the Chancellor's Spring Forecast, starting at 1hr 8mins 🔽
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
In any case, £40 growth over 5 years is simply not enough.
‼️The government must focus on driving up living standards so families who have been struggling for years start to feel better off.
Action across all aspects of government to bring down people's costs and boost their incomes is needed.
🔎 It's worth pointing out that the latest OBR forecasts do not take into account the conflict in the Middle East and its potential impact on the economy.
Significant changes to the OBR forecasts and to JRF’s living standards modelling are therefore possible.
📐This is because they are modelled on a household basis and take into account actual housing costs at 2025-26 levels, making them a more accurate reflection of whether families are likely to feel any better off.
However, we estimate that we are already at the high point of the parliament, and that from April 2026 to April 2029, incomes are set to fall by £580.
📊 These figures differ from the £1,000 increase over the parliament quoted by the Chancellor in her Spring Forecast speech.
Graph showing how annual household disposable incomes, after housing costs are set to fall by over £500 between now and the end of the parliament (April 2029)
🔔 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.
Read our latest report on why we need a new settlement for care worker pay, with care workers paid the Real Living Wage, if we want a more productive, fairer care sector.
www.jrf.org.uk/care/the-hid...
An image of two people, one of them a care worker, linking arms. £9,282. This is the average hidden cost to care providers for each care worker vacancy.
JRF and @cordisbright.bsky.social found that the average hidden cost to care providers for each care worker vacancy is £9,282.
Low pay makes it harder to recruit and retain staff, which comes with costs we don’t see which harm the economy and the care sector.
These costs include time taken to train new staff and hiring costly agency staff as well as sick days for burnt-out staff covering vacancies.
A quote from Abby Jitendra Principal Policy Adviser at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on a report on care workers pay from Cordis Bright. "It's right that the Government is improving care worker pay through Fair Pay Agreements. Care workers aren't paid enough for the important work they do. But low pay doesn't just cost care workers. It makes it harder to recruit and retain staff and the hidden costs are huge. We need better pay for care workers if we want a more productive, fairer care sector."
It’s right that the Government will improve care worker pay through Fair Pay Agreements. Care workers aren’t paid enough for the important work they do.
But as well as the cost to care workers, there’s also the hidden cost of low pay. A 🧵
🗣️"When we fail to make sure we all have a decent home that we can afford, we’re failing in our most basic responsibility to protect people’s dignity."
Lead Analyst @jelliott94.bsky.social in @the-independent.com on the two abysmal new records in today's homelessness stats
https://bit.ly/4sa931L
Graph showing a record high number of people sleeping rough in Autumn 2025
New statistics released today show two abysmal new records:
- A record high number of people sleeping rough
- A record high number of households and children living in temporary accommodation
These are the most devastating indicators of the failure of our housing system ⬇️
Illustration of two people sitting on a blue sofa, engaging in conversation. Text at the top reads: "Talking about Homes" and "How people think about homes: signs of recent movement in cultural mindsets." Event details: Date - Thursday, 12th March, Time - 1-2pm. Icons of Nationwide Foundation, JRF, and FrameWorks UK are at the bottom.
📅 Coming soon!
Our Talking About Homes webinar series with Frameworks and @nationwidefdtn.bsky.social returns on 12 March.
We'll share insights into how people’s thinking has shifted in the past 4 years - and what this means for communicators.
Register now 🔽
https://bit.ly/4rNrsRW
Men and women living in the most deprived areas of England and Wales are far more likely to die from causes that are preventable or treatable than those in the least deprived communities.
Thanks to all at @crsp-uk.bsky.social for their hard work on the research and their continued work with Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
The findings highlight the impact of rising food and household costs, wages failing to keep pace with inflation, and growth in low-paid and insecure work.
The research calls for government action to raise incomes and bring down costs so people can live with dignity.
A single person needs to earn £30,500 a year to reach a minimum acceptable standard of living.
A couple with two kids needs to earn £74,000 between them.
In total, 25.3 million people were living below MIS in 2023/24 (including working-age adults, children and pensioners).
That compares to 16.5 million in 2008/09.
Even after inflation has fallen from its late 2022 peak, rising food and household bills continue to have long-lasting effects.
For many in full-time work, pay has failed to keep up with the cost of living.
A graphic showing a female construction worker wearing a hard hat. The graphic reads "4.2 million working households made up more than two thirds (68.5%) of all the households living below MIS in 2023/34. In 2008/09 closer to half of working households (55.5%) lived below MIS.
Overall, nearly four in 10 (37.5%) of the UK population was living below MIS in 2023/24.
This is the highest level recorded since the research began in 2008/09.
For single parents working full-time, the rate below MIS has more than doubled since 2008/09. Working full-time is not a guarantee of a decent standard of living.
A graphic showing a dad playing his son. The text reads, 59.5% of single parents working full-time were below MIS in 2023/24. This is more than double the rate in 2008/9 (28.7%).
Certain groups are particularly affected:
Single parents working full-time: 59.5% (up from 28.7%).
Self-employed or part-time single adults without children: 53.0% below MIS (up from 44.5% in 2008/09).
Couples without children, not both full-time: 46.3% (up from 40.6%).
MIS reflects what the public agrees is needed to live with dignity in the UK today.
Some households below MIS may struggle to afford basics such as heating and food, while others might go without what is needed to take part in society, like a day out with their children.
Around 4.2 million working households are living below the Minimum Income Standard (MIS). That is 68.5% of all households below MIS in 2023/24.
In 2008/09, the figure was 55.5%.
