Information Bulletin

Summary of News and Publications from the Week ending 1 February 2013 Today 1 February, is Dignity Action Day for social care and Fuel Poverty Awareness Day.

JRF Activity
Report - Minimum Income Standards and Older Pensioners Needs Report - Educational aspirations: How English schools can work with parents to keep them on track Film Drama by students at the Joseph Rowntree School on the daily impact of dementia.

Blogs There is much more to poverty than addictions Chris Gouldens Blog in response Iain Duncan-Smiths speech. How schools and parents can work together to keep poorer pupils aspirations high Blog from Loic Menzies. Poorer students need help to fulfil their goals Blog from Helen Barnard. Green Deal is no deal for the average homeowner Blog from Owen Daggett.

Poverty
A new Save the Children report provides an overview of child poverty in Wales for each local authority area. Child Poverty Snapshots: The local picture in Wales. Iain Duncan Smith spoke this week on measuring child poverty, focusing on addiction. Here are some of the responses: There is much more to poverty than addictions Chris Gouldens JRF Blog. Government must not airbrush poverty pay out of the picture CPAG response. Childrens Society response. See also Department for Work and Pensions survey of public views on what is important in deciding if a child is in poverty. Plans to raise the ratio of children to childminders in England, providing the carers qualifications meet higher standards, were published this week. More Great Childcare: raising quality and giving parents more choice. Response from the National Childminding Association (NCMA), which fears the changes will result in a two-tier system. See also Baby steps wont solve childcare crisis LSE Blog The Policy Exchange has published a report which says that parents are receiving lower quality childcare in deprived areas. Quality Childcare: improving early years childcare. New report looks at stigmatisation of people experiencing poverty by politicians & media, 'The Blame Game Must Stop' Church Action on Poverty report.

The Leicester Child Poverty Commission has published a report which contains a substantial list of recommendations including the adoption and promotion of the living wage by the council, and a call for a low-cost loan or lease scheme for fridges, cookers and beds for lowincome families. The lack of investment in skills, infrastructure and innovation is putting a drag on UK growth, according to a new report from the LSE Growth Commission Investing for Prosperity. UK youth unemployment has risen faster than any other G8 country since the start of the recession, according to a new report from the Work Foundation. New ONS figures show that excluding mortgages, the average household owed 3,200 on credit cards, loans and overdrafts between 2006-2008 and 2008-2010. On average across the UK, debt in households has risen by just over 10% over the period, although some regions have seen increases of as much as 42%. One third of men and nearly a third of women who participated in further education got a better job as a result. The Impact of Further Education Learning looks at the financial and non-financial benefits.

Place
A new Shelter survey on the rent trap shows the difficulties of saving for a house deposit. A third of renters say they have nothing left over each month after paying for essentials, while 81% of renting families said they are only able to save 50 or less each month. The report also shows that rents in England have risen by an average of almost 300 per year. The Rent Trap and the Fading Dream of Owning a Home. See also Shelters Infographics and interactive map. National Energy Action (NEA) has marked Fuel Poverty Awareness Day and the launch of its Warm Homes campaign, by releasing new analysis. 45% of fuel-poor households who could benefit from cavity wall insulation could be excluded from support as a result of inadequate funding. 4.5 million households are estimated to be in fuel poverty, according to Legal & Generals latest Moneymood survey, 1% higher than in October. The largest rises are in the East Midlands and the South West (both 50%+ higher since October), while the largest falls in fuel poverty are found in London and East Anglia. From April, three quarters of local authorities are looking to increase council tax bills for low income families, with rises of up to 600 per household, according to No Clear Benefit, a new report from the Resolution Foundation. 75% of leaders in the housing sector listed the impact on tenants and the challenge of helping tenants cope with welfare reform and universal credit as their top concern for 2013. The figure is part of the latest Chartered Institute of Housing UK Housing Panel report. Green Deal, the Governments main retrofit scheme, has launched this week. Experts fear it may not save poorer households money, since the cost of work done may not be covered by energy savings, especially when interest rates are applied. Interest rates for the Green Deal have been announced as 7.67 % for the longest period on larger packages of measures, to as high as 9.34 per cent over shorter periods on small packages.

A New Statesman article argues that there is no such thing as a stereotypical homeless person, and meets some of the people living without a home. Research into the role and value of smaller housing associations in London, which are those with up to 1,000 in ownership or management, has been published. The Flexible and focused: the specialists at the heart of neighbourhoods. Couples with children may be offered smaller mortgages than those without, as lenders tighten their affordability criteria. The costs of bringing up a child is being factored in to lower loan offers for families with children.

An Ageing Society
1 February 2013 is Dignity Action Day for social care. See the campaign website to see activities happening around the UK. The proportion of people with dementia who have a diagnosis is now 46%, compared with 43% in 2011, according to new figures from the Alzheimers Society. A consultation has been launched to seek ideas from care users, their families and carers to suggests topics for the forthcoming NICE social care quality standards. As part of the consultation, a White Paper Caring for our Future has been published. The deadline for contributions is 26 April. The percentage of the UKs income which is spent on health and social care could double by 2061. A new King's Fund report looks at the feasibility of health and social care spending continuing to increase at the same rate it has over the past 50 years. A higher spend, the report argues, should not be seen as a burden, but as a way to improve the populations health, wellbeing and quality of life as well as economic activity. Think Local Act Personal, with a steering group including SCIE, Age UK and the Alzheimers Society, has published Improving personal budgets for older people a review. In Wales, the draft Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill was introduced in to the National Assembly this week. The legislation aims to give people greater freedom to decide which services they need while offering consistent, high-quality services across the country. See BBC summary. In a survey by Bupa of 2,000 people aged 65 and over, almost half assumed their care in old age will be paid for by their council or the NHS. 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.