Give working parents help with childcare and commuting costs, UK thinktank says
Labour must offer extra support to working parents, including with childcare and commuting, if it is to fulfil its promise of cutting child poverty, the Resolution Foundation thinktank has argued.The government’s manifesto promised an “ambitious strategy” on child poverty, and ministers have said they will publish a 10-year plan in the spring.A report from the Resolution Foundation, titled Working Poverty Out, showed the last Labour government lifted 600,000 children out of poverty, helped by rising employment among single parents.But it argues that the challenge facing today’s government is different, because 70% of families in poverty now have at least one parent in work – up from 49% in 2000.Of those households in poverty where there is no working parent, many face significant barriers to a job.
Half have a child under five, and 31% have three or more children,Almost half of these families include an adult with a disability, or limiting health condition,For many of these families, the generosity of the benefits system will be crucial,But the thinktank argues the government should also tackle issues such as the cost and availability of childcare, to help some of these parents into work, and those already in a job to move up the income scale,Mike Brewer, Resolution Foundation’s interim director and the report’s lead author, said: “With many of the ‘easy gains’ on poverty reduction achieved, the government will need deep pockets, and action on multiple fronts across employment, housing and benefits, to lift significantly more children out of poverty.
”He added: “As well as the obvious moves, like boosting childcare support – particularly for primary school-aged children – and making it easier to commute between workplaces, schools and nurseries – strengthening workers’ rights should help reduce the risks involved in changing jobs,”Labour’s workers’ rights package, to be implemented in a new employment bill, includes stronger employment protections from day one of employment – after a probation period – and the right to a contract with guaranteed hours,On childcare, the government has promised to meet the Conservatives’ plans to expand free childcare; but some providers in the sector have said they are struggling to absorb planned increases in national insurance contributions and the minimum wage,The target of the government’s child poverty strategy is a reduction in the headline rate – measured as the share of households growing up with an income after housing costs that is below 60% of the median,Nearly 30% of children are living in relative poverty after housing costs, according to official statistics.
There are 4.3 million children living in poverty in the UK, according to the charity Action for Children.Sign up to Headlines UKGet the day’s headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morningafter newsletter promotionCharities and anti-poverty campaigners had urged Labour to scrap the two-child limit on some benefits immediately on coming to power last July, but Rachel Reeves’s October budget left the cap in place.Just before the budget, the government launched a child poverty taskforce, chaired by the work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, and the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, which will report in the coming months.A government spokesperson said: “No child should be in poverty – that’s why our ministerial taskforce is exploring all levers available across government to give all children the best start in life.
”The spokesperson also pointed to policies including the increase in the national living wage in April, and the rollout of free breakfast clubs for primary school children, as measures ministers have already taken.
Consumers could face price rises of 20% in 2025, trade experts warn
The price of household staples including food and drink could climb by as much as 20% in 2025 if challenges with sourcing and transporting goods continue, an industry body has warned.The cost of electronics, machinery, chemicals and petroleum products could also rise, said the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS), as a result of geopolitical instability, including tensions in the Middle East, supply chain disruption and cybersecurity issues.Buying and supplying items including food and drink could cost businesses as much as a fifth more this year, which they will pass on to consumers, according to the international trade association, which represents 64,000 member organisations in procurement and supply chains across 150 countries.The cost of everyday products could be pushed even higher if Donald Trump follows through on threats to apply tariffs to goods entering the US after his inauguration as president on 20 January.International shipping costs have been rising in recent months as global freight companies faced a string of challenges in moving goods around the world
UK long-term borrowing costs rise to highest since 1998 – as it happened
As reported earlier, the UK’s long-term borrowing costs have risen to the highest level since 1998, as the government gears up for a number of bond sales this year.The yield, or interest rate, on 30-year gilts, as UK government bonds are known, climbed by four basis points to 5.22% after a bond auction.The rise in borrowing costs is increasing pressure on the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to keep the market on side ahead of a raft of bond sales.The Labour government plans to sell £297bn of bonds this fiscal year — the second-highest on record, Bloomberg News reported
Mark Carney: the ‘rock star central banker’ weighing up run to be Canada’s PM
Mark Carney, who has said he is considering a run to replace Justin Trudeau as the Canadian premier, spent seven years in the UK as the Bank of England governor.Carney was headhunted in 2013 by the then chancellor, George Osborne, after serving as the governor of the Bank of Canada, and was known at the time by the unlikely epithet of “rock star central banker”.He remains an influential figure on the global economic stage, and Rachel Reeves hailed his endorsement at the 2023 Labour conference – given by video message – as the party sought to present itself as economically credible. Carney called Reeves a “serious economist” who “understands the economics of work, of place and family”.Carney arrived in London determined to bring change to the stuffy Bank
‘Just make people come in on the second Thursday of the month’: workspace provider Mark Dixon on the WFH debate
The head of the flexible office company IWG is a big fan of hybrid shifts and says ‘working close to home’ is the way forwardWorking from home isn’t generally a success for Mark Dixon. “I’m too easily distracted,” he says. “You have to be quite disciplined to be a successful home worker, whether that’s for one day or five days.”The tycoon’s admission will not raise any eyebrows given his decades-long role running FTSE‑listed IWG (International Workplace Group) – one of the world’s largest office space providers, valued at £1.6bn
Next to increase prices to help pay for budget tax changes
Next has said it will increase prices by 1% this year to help offset a £67m rise in wage costs driven by budget tax changes, which it expects will slow UK sales growth this year.The fashion and homewares retailer said the tax increases for employers announced by the government in October and their potential impact on prices and the job market “begin to filter through into the economy”.However, the Next chief executive, Simon Wolfson, said the alterations to price and sales expectations were “not a big change” and he did not think the budget changes had hit trading in the run-up to Christmas.The group upped its profit forecasts by £5m after better than expected sales in the key festive trading period.Lord Wolfson said mild weather, which hit sales of coats, boots and knitwear, and other factors were likely to have had more impact
UK food price inflation hits 3.7%, the highest level since March
Food price inflation jumped to 3.7% last month, the highest level since March, helping fuel a bumper season for supermarkets.Sales at the big grocery chains were up 2.1% over the four weeks to 29 December compared with a year before, according to the analysts Kantar. However, that rise was flattered by food price growth, which jumped more than one percentage point from 2
Apple says it will update AI feature after inaccurate news alerts
British AI startup with government ties is developing tech for military drones
Rural internet deserts in England and Wales to finally get fast broadband
LA tech entrepreneur nearly misses flight after getting trapped in robotaxi
Cost of assuring nuclear safety from millennium bug was well worth it | Letter
Hooray! A new year gift from Elon Musk | Brief letters