Centre for Research in Social Policy

School of Social, Political and Geographical Sciences

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Using the Minimum Income Standard as a criterion for fair access to justice has profound implications for its status as a national standard

Today, the Law Society is publishing my report that asks a simple question about the way people are assessed for eligibility for civil legal aid. Can those denied full legal aid because of their income afford to pay for their own legal advice and services? The criterion for considering affordability is whether such costs can […]

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“Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living, barely getting by …”

Record rates of employment and small increases in pay have not halted the increase in the number of those in work living on incomes below what they need, particularly working families with children. In recent years the phrase ‘hard-working families’ has figured prominently both in defining and defending ‘difficult’ policy decisions. The programme of welfare […]

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The economy may have turned the corner, but many are still struggling to make ends meet

Despite signs of economic recovery, nearly four in ten families with children are living on incomes below what they need and making up lost ground is going to take time. Recent weeks and months have seen a growing assertion that following a long period of decline, we might just have turned a corner and 2015 […]

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Employment growth does not mean a socially acceptable standard of living for many young adults

At the end of 2014, we learned that joblessness in the UK reached its lowest since the beginning of the financial crisis of 2008.   According to the ONS, unemployment is now 6 per cent, having reached its peak at 8 per cent in 2009. This seems to be good news, especially for young adults who […]

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