Our publications - 2024

A Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom in 2024 The Minimum Income Standard (MIS) provides a vision of the living standards that we as a society agree everyone in the UK should be able to achieve. This latest update sets out what households need to reach the MIS benchmark in 2024. Davis, A., Blackwell, C., Ellis, W., Padley, M., Stone, J. and Balchin, E. (2024) A Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom in 2024. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Running up a down escalator: Improving the legal aid means test as living costs rise Hirsch, D. and Padley, M. (2024) Running up a down escalator: Improving the legal aid means test as living costs rise. London: The Law Society
Sight loss and the minimum cost of living: 2024 update paper In 2016, we carried out research to identify the different and/or additional needs and costs of reaching a minimum socially acceptable standard of living for those who are sight-impaired and severely sight-impaired. This research identified a wide range of additional needs, increasing the cost of a weekly minimum budget for individuals who are sight impaired. While there has been no new research on the needs of individuals who are sight-impaired since 2016, this briefing estimates how much these additional costs have increased over the period between 2016 and 2024 by applying increases in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to the additional and different items identified in the original research. It also looks at what this means for the adequacy of social security benefits intended to support individuals with the additional costs of disability - Personal Independence Payments for working-age adults and Attendance Allowance for adults above state pension age. Padley, M. and Ellis, W. (2024) Sight loss and the minimum cost of living: 2024 update paper. London: RNIB - Royal National Institute of Blind People
Local indicators of child poverty after housing costs, 2022/23 Stone, J. (2024) Local indicators of child poverty after housing costs, 2022/23. London: End Child Poverty.
A Minimum Income Standard for Students This report presents research, supported by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) with funding from TechnologyOne, looking at the cost of a minimum standard of living for students. It draws on the Minimum Income Standards (MIS) approach to set out what students need to participate in university life. The research identifies minimum needs and the cost of meeting these – for accommodation, in the home, for university, socially and life more broadly. Rent accounts for the largest single area of cost, and over half (59%) of a minimum budget is made up of rent, utility bills, clothes and food within the home. The report outlines a significant shortfall between the MIS budget and student maintenance loans, and shows the level of other resources, such as employment or parental support, required to fill the gap. Hill, K., Padley, M. and Freeman, J. (2024) A Minimum Income Standard for Students. London: Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI).
The cost of remoteness: reflecting higher living costs in remote rural Scotland when measuring fuel poverty This latest report is part of Scottish Government funded work in remote rural Scotland to identify what is needed for a minimum, socially acceptable standard of living in these areas. This ongoing research is needed as the Minimum Income Standard income benchmarks are key to the Scottish fuel poverty calculation detailed in the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019. This report updates estimates made for 2021 of specific additional costs that make it more expensive to meet a minimum acceptable living standard in remote rural areas of Scotland. In 2022, minimum budgets were updated based on inflation, on updated costings in remote rural Scotland, and on adjustments to take account of new UK-wide Minimum Income Standard research in urban areas and the new minimum budgets that this produced. The report sets out the impact of inflation, updated costings and new urban UK research on remote rural Scotland minimum budgets. Taken together, these produce new minimum budget uplifts for 2022, showing that costs are between 14% and 27% higher in remote rural Scotland. Bryan, A., Ellen, J., Hirsch, D. and Padley, M. (2024) The cost of remoteness: Reflecting higher living costs in remote rural Scotland when measuring fuel poverty, 2022 update. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
UK benefit uptake among blind and partially sighted people This research report, produced for RNIB, looks at the UK benefit uptake among blind and partially sighted people, showing a substantial deficit in the take-up of disability benefits due to multiple barriers, including poor communication and the challenge of getting to face-to-face appointments. Around one in four blind and partially sighted people (83,000) in the UK are not getting disability benefits they are entitled to. Stone, J., Blackwell, C. and Shepherd, C. (2024) UK benefit uptake among blind and partially sighted people. London: Royal National Institute of Blind People
A Minimum Digital Living Standard for Households with Children - Overall Findings Report This report brings together findings from the three-year UK Minimum Digital Living Standards (MDLS) research funded by the Nuffield Foundation, Nominet and the Welsh Government. The project sets a benchmark for what households with children need to feel included in the digital world around them, based on what parents and young people themselves say is required. It takes a holistic approach highlighting the importance of having adequate devices and internet connection, as well the skills necessary to be confident and safely digitally included. The report provides findings on the development of MDLS and what it contains, survey and mapping data on where households are in relation to MDLS, and interviews and discussions with stakeholder organisations and families on varying needs and the challenges households face in meeting MDLS. Yates, S., Hill, K., Blackwell, C., Davis, A., Padley, M., Stone, E., Polizzi, G., D’Arcy, J., Harris, R., Sheppard, P., Singleton, A., Ye, Z., Carmi, E. and Garikipati, S. (2024) A Minimum Digital Living Standard for Households with Children: Overall Findings Report. Liverpool: University of Liverpool.
Debt, poverty and living standards in Great Britain Stone, J., Robinson, E., Blackwell, C. and Padley, M. (2024) Debt, poverty and living standards in Great Britain. Bradford: Christians Against Poverty
The Cost of a Child in Scotland in 2023 Stone, J. (2024) The Cost of a Child in Scotland in 2023. Glasgow: Child Poverty Action Group Scotland
Households living below a Minimum Income Standard: 2008-2022 The latest in a series of reports from the Centre for Research in Social Policy at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ shows that nearly half of working-age households with incomes below the Minimum Income Standard (MIS) are those where all adults are employed. Households living below a Minimum Income Standard: 2008 to 22 is part of ongoing work funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), setting out what the public agree everyone needs to live with dignity in the UK today. The report shows that among households that don’t have the income needed for a socially acceptable standard of living, 64% are households where there is some work, and 46% are households where all adults are employed. Children remain the group most likely to be living below MIS, with 42% living in households with inadequate income. Although pensioners are the least likely to be in a household below MIS, they have seen a sharp increase in risk since 2008-2009, with the proportion below MIS increasing from 13% to 21% in 2021-2022. Padley, M., Stone, J. and Robinson, E. (2024) Households living below a Minimum Income Standard: 2008-2022. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
A Minimum Income Standard for non-resident parents with some responsibilities for children This report presents new research looking at the costs a non-resident parent faces when caring for a child on a regular basis including regular overnight stays. The research identifies substantial additional costs where meeting the needs of their child involves a non-resident parent providing a suitable home, doing things together, maintaining their relationship and the child’s wellbeing. The report highlights that the majority of costs are fully additional, such as the need to pay more for accommodation, and are not offset by equivalent savings for a primary carer. It provides recommendations for the social security system to recognise the role of non-resident parents who have children to stay overnight and to take some account of the additional financial responsibilities this involves. Hill, K. and Hirsch, D. (2024) A Minimum Income Standard for non-resident parents with some responsibilities for children. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Retirement living standards in the UK in 2023 The latest update to the Retirement Living Standards shows an increase in the cost of retirement driven both by changes in the UK public's expectations and increases to the cost-of-living. Our research reveals the impact of price rises on retired households and what they need for a minimum, moderate and comfortable standard of living. Over the last two years the price of food and energy has increased substantially. At the same time the Retirement Living Standards capture subtle changes in people’s priorities and the increasing importance they place on spending time with family and friends outside of the home. These changes in costs and expectations are reflected in the updated levels. Padley, M., Blackwell, C., Davis, A., Hill, K. and Stone, J. (2024) Retirement living standards in the UK in 2023. London: Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association
The impact of school challenges on parental employment among families with children on the autism spectrum Families raising children on the autism spectrum often experience financial pressures, including lower incomes linked to reduced parental employment participation. Although the literature identifies many school challenges for children on the autism spectrum and their families, the evidence analysing the impact of school challenges on parental employment is sparse. This paper presents findings from in-depth interviews conducted with 19 families living in England, Scotland and Wales to explore their perspectives on the impact of school on parental paid employment. School support and staff understanding can be critical for children on the autism spectrum and their families. Lacking school support was found to contribute to eventual formal and informal school exclusions as well as child school refusal. These manifestations of unmet school needs meant that parents frequently experienced employment interruptions, exacerbating both financial pressures (the risk of losing work pay) and temporal pressures (for example, making up for lost working time). Blackwell, C. (2024) The impact of school challenges on parental employment among families with children on the autism spectrum. Disability & Society Journal. DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2024.2313096