Blog posts by Chris Goulden

Workfare – how about some evidence?

by Chris Goulden 22 February 2012

Workfare has recently come under close scrutiny, and criticism aimed at some high-profile employers has culminated in a terse response from the Government.

Detractors condemn workfare as barely better than slave labour, while defenders claim it's a valuable addition to other forms of help for unemployed people, but what does the evidence say about whether workfare leads to better outcomes and less poverty?

Yesterday's unemployment figures

by Chris Goulden 17 November 2011

There is no doubt about it. The unemployment figures continue to be terrible news, not just for governments across the UK, but for the millions of people wanting work but unable to get it.

"We would never try to have impact for impact's sake alone": the inside view on think tanks and academic research

by Chris Goulden 25 October 2011

A recent blog post by Andy Williamson on the LSE's site highlighted some of the perceived inadequacies of the current think tank model of research and influencing. Whilst we don't consider ourselves to be a think tank in the same vein, at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation we hope to provide a slightly different way of approaching the development of evidence-informed policy and practice that combines the rigour of academic research with the impact that think tanks sometimes have.

Childcare, jobs and poverty

by Chris Goulden 09 September 2011

The final design for Universal Credit could make or break the Government's welfare reforms for families and for their goals on child poverty over the next few years.

The wage needed to make ends meet - rising fast

by Chris Goulden 04 July 2011

Since 2008, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has been publishing its annual Minimum Income Standard for the UK, which shows how much money you need for an acceptable standard of living. This standard is based on the items and activities that a cross-section of ordinary members of the public agrees is needed to survive and take part in today’s society. Looking at the effects of tax and benefits on the budgets for different family types shows the wage you need to earn in order to have enough.

Poverty: official figures do not reflect reality

by Chris Goulden 13 May 2011

The official poverty figures out yesterday, independently analysed by the IFS today, don't reflect what is happening now. Nor do they show the potential impact of cuts, growth or welfare reform in the future. The 2% fall in child poverty we've seen reflects tax credits changes even further back in 2007 and 2008. But this does show that decisions taken by governments can definitely make a difference.

Will capping the cost of credit help people in poverty?

by Chris Goulden 03 February 2011

MPs will vote today in an Early Day Motion on whether to support, among other aims, the introduction of a series of caps on how much lenders can charge to borrowers for the total cost of credit. These caps are targeted mainly at the 'home credit' industry and pay-day lenders, relied upon by many low-income families to make ends meet. There is no question that the rates of interest are extremely high compared with the headline rates in high street banks, and certainly in comparison with the Bank of England base rate.

The VAT rise - affecting people in poverty?

by Chris Goulden 05 January 2011

The rise in VAT to 20% has provoked what is becoming the usual argument about whether or not the impact is progressive or regressive. On the one hand, Ed Miliband has said that the rise will hit poor and middle-income families the hardest. On the other hand, the Government are defending the rise as the “least worst” option compared with income tax or National Insurance increases. George Osborne has also quoted the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) in support of the claim that the VAT rise is progressive.

Poverty forecast to rise by 2014

by Chris Goulden 17 December 2010

The Institute for Fiscal Studies, commissioned by JRF, have today published projections of poverty rates for working-age adults and children up to March 2014 taking account of changes to the UK tax and benefit systems announced by the Government in the Budget and the Spending Review alongside forecasts for earnings, demographic change, inflation and so on.

This graph shows the forecast for how many children, parents and working-age childless adults will be in poverty:

Attitudes towards poverty and inequality in Britain

by Chris Goulden 14 December 2010

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Author

Chris Goulden

Policy and Research Manager

(01904) 615946

chris_goulden

Chris manages several of the JRF's programmes on poverty in the Policy and Research Department, including our work on Minimum income standards and The Future UK Labour Market. He joined the JRF in 2003.

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