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Unemployment support post COVID: learning from the job retention scheme

13 May 2020
Yesterday, the Chancellor announced that the job retention scheme will continue until October. This will be a huge relief to the 7.5 million workers who rely on support from the scheme, and will avert a huge second surge in unemployment as a result of the crisis, which is already set to rise to it’s highest level for 25 years. This extension is welcome, but there is no reason why more generous unemployment benefits couldn’t exist in the UK permanently.
Blog Coronavirus Jobseeker's allowance Secure futures UK Universal credit Work and pay
Blog

Families hit harder because nothing for children in COVID-19 response

12 May 2020
COVID-19 has clearly had a massive impact on household incomes in the UK. Millions of people have lost their job and millions more have been furloughed. It will take a while to understand the complete effect of COVID on household incomes but some initial quantitative findings can help shed light on the effect of the pandemic on families.
Benefit cap Blog Childcare Children’s benefits Coronavirus Two child limit UK Welfare reform Work and pay
Blog

Mind the gaps – reporting on families’ incomes during the pandemic

09 April 2020
The government has taken some giant leaps in recent weeks to help those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. We have seen the announcement of the Jobs Retention Scheme, support for self-employed people, and increases to certain benefits. But there is still more to be done.
Blog Children’s benefits Coronavirus Early warning system Early warning system (Scotland) Tax credits UK Universal credit Work and pay
Press release

Budget 2020: families need more support in health and in sickness

11 March 2020
Commenting on today’s Budget, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, Alison Garnham said: "New Corona virus emergency measures on Statutory Sickness Pay, employment support allowance and universal credit are welcome but low-income families need support in health and in sickness. When it comes to the nation’s longer-term priorities, action on poverty must trump potholes and pubs. We need to properly re-invest in our social infrastructure."
Benefit cap Children’s benefits Costs and spending Free school meals Press release Two child limit UK Universal credit Work and pay
Blog

Is food the right response to child hunger?

13 January 2020
A Mori poll for the Trussell Trust, published on 16 October in the Daily Mirror, showed more than half the British public think food banks are an embarrassment to this country and 7 in 10 think they should not exist in a modern society. They think it’s the government’s responsibility to deal with it. They are right. More people than ever, 21%, say ‘poverty and inequality’ is the most important issue facing Britain - the highest rate since 1997.
Benefit cap Benefit delivery Benefit levels Blog Childcare Two child limit UK Work and pay
Blog

Upfront for families? Childcare costs in universal credit

29 October 2019
For many families upfront childcare costs are a significant barrier to work. Under tax credits, parents can get financial support for upfront childcare costs. However, under universal credit any help with childcare is paid retrospectively. This is a big problem as the majority of childcare requires parents to pay for a month/term in advance.
Blog Childcare UK Universal credit Work and pay
Press release

Working lone parents face drastic and growing income shortfalls

04 September 2019
Working lone parents on reasonable pay cannot reach a minimum acceptable living standard – as defined by the public - even if they work full time, new research for Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) shows.
Benefit levels Childcare Cost of a child Costs and spending Press release UK Work and pay
News

The Cost of a Child in 2019

04 September 2019
The latest report in our annual Cost of a Child series finds that the overall cost of a child up to age 18 (including rent and childcare) is £185,000 for lone parents (up 19% since 2012) and £151,000 for couples (up 5.5% since 2012). The gap between lone parents’ actual income and what they need to meet family needs has grown sharply.
Benefit levels Childcare Children’s benefits Cost of a child Costs and spending News UK Work and pay
Blog

Costs and spending on decent childhoods

04 September 2019
The new school year is underway after the long summer break. This can be an expensive time for families. Most parents will have faced significant costs in recent weeks, from holiday childcare to new school uniforms. But to what extent are different families able to meet those costs? Every year for the past eight years, we have published research on what it costs to raise children from birth to age 18. This year the research coincides with the Spending Review, and puts a spotlight on how the government does support, and how it should support, families with the extra costs of children.
Benefit levels Blog Childcare Children’s benefits Cost of a child Costs and spending UK Work and pay
Press release

A package to restore benefits for children could lift more than 700,000 children out of poverty

05 June 2019
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is calling for re-investment in social security support for the UK’s children in a new report detailing the costs of restoring a catalogue of cuts to social security - including sub-inflationary uprating since 2013/14 - and providing a blueprint for making universal credit fit for families.
Benefit cap Children’s benefits Early warning system Press release Sanctions and conditionality Two child limit UK Universal credit Work and pay