Information Bulletin

Summary of News and Publications from the Week ending 23 August 2013

JRF Activity
Blog from Abigail Scott-Paul - Supporting vulnerable people back into society requires time, patience and commitment, not punitive measures.

Poverty
The minimum costs for raising a child grew by 4% in 2013, according to the latest Child Poverty Action Group report, co-funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Childcare costs increased by 5.9% in the last year while the relative level of child benefit and tax credits fell. The Cost of a Child in 2013. 15.1% of people aged 16-24 were not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the second quarter of 2013, the same figure as the first quarter but 1.3% lower than a year ago. 53.6% of the young people who were NEET were looking for and available for work- the remainder were classified as economically inactive. The Office for National Statistics has published data on deprivation in larger seaside towns in 2010. The analysis shows that 25 of the 31 larger English seaside destinations had higher levels of deprivation than the average measure across England. Blackpool had the highest average levels of deprivation among the larger seaside towns. The Government has announced that the Coastal Communities Fund will be extended into 2014-15, backed by revenue from marine activity such as offshore wind farms and tidal power, to support regeneration in coastal towns. Think Tank CentreForum has published a report proposing new performance measures for secondary schools, which not only include a measure based on GCSE grades, but also a points based attainment score for each pupil and a progress score to show value added by the school. Measuring what matters: secondary school accountability indicators that benefit all. A report from the National Foundation for Educational Research summarises research evidence from 2008-2013, on what worked in closing the gap in educational achievement for children and young people living in poverty. Successful approaches include rigorous monitoring, using pupil engagement/aspiration programmes, engaging parents and raising aspirations and developing social and emotional competencies in pupils. Evidence on Access and Achievement of Children in Poverty in England. This is a research paper for Ofsteds Access and achievement in education 2013 review. Surveys on apprenticeships of both learners and employers have been published by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills. 83% of learners said that an apprenticeship improved their career prospects and 81% of employers said they would recommend the scheme to other employers. Read the Summary infographic, Learners survey, and the Employers survey. Figures from the CAB show that foodbank enquiries have risen by 78% over the last six months.

Place
The latest statistics from the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) show that the number of newly built social homes to rent fell by 26% last year. They also reveal that the average rent charged by social landlords increased 6.3% in the past year.

http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/news/second-statistical-data-return
Preliminary results from research to be published in September, funded by the Local Government Association, show that in England, there were 6,500 housing sites with planning permissions yet to be completed on 31st March 2013, representing 381,390 unbuilt homes. Building work had yet to start on 61% of the uncompleted schemes. The Government has launched its Housing Standards Review consultation this week, which includes a proposal to introduce a national minimum space standard for new build homes to address criticism that many are too small. It also proposes cutting other housing standards and regulations from a patchwork of more than 100 housing standards to fewer than 10. The closing date for responses to the consultation is 22 October 2013. See also Housing standards review: towards more sustainable homes challenge panel report. Mortgages are at their most affordable for 14 years according to the latest analysis from the Halifax. On average, 27% of a new borrower's income in 2013 Quarter 2 goes towards a mortgage, well below the average of 36% recorded over the past 30 years. Mortgage affordability has improved across all local authority districts since 2007 and mortgage payments have fallen by at least a half as a proportion of average earnings in 24 areas. The NHS has issued a tender seeking a provider initially to train 100,000 members of the public in online skills, to help more people to benefit from online health services. Four examples of how councils are innovating and using technology to help regenerate areas - Guardian article. By the end of July, 58,000 Green Deal assessments have been completed, but only 132 have so far signed up to the Green Deal. The Minister for Energy and Climate Change has said he expects 10,000 households to be signed up by the end of the year. Glasgow City Council is said to be considering setting up its own energy company with a private sector partner, which could oversee renewable energy projects and generate energy, some of which could be sold to the national grid and the proceeds used to tackle fuel poverty in the city. The Homeshell flatpack house, a new cost-effective housing prototype, has been constructed in a day in the Royal Academy of Arts courtyard as part of an exhibition. It is envisaged the design could be used for housing, schools and factories. See the time lapse video.

An Ageing Society
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that he and David Cameron will use the UKs presidency of the G8 in 2013 to co-ordinate international action on dementia most countries are operating independently on a national basis in terms of strategy and research. As part of this the UK is to hold a G8 Dementia Summit in London on 11 December 2013. New TUC research suggests that private sector workers with a long working history will be worse off under the new single tier pension, especially those on low to middle incomes

(10,000 to 26,000). The analysis estimates that a low earner currently aged in their late 30s, for example, would receive 30 less per week under the single tier system than under the current state pension. 14% of non-retired people in the UK, which amounts to just over 5 million people, do not plan to retire, according to a survey by Baring Asset Management, the highest percentage since the survey began in 2008. 34% of 55-64 year olds said they do not know when they will be able to retire. The average age when people say they plan to retire has also increased to 64 years old in this years survey, up from 62 in 2009. An expert panel from the UK and overseas has been selected to shortlist Integrated Care Pioneer Projects from the 111 bids received the NHS is one of the partners in the project. The projects will be selected based on the innovative ways in which they can demonstrate services working seamlessly together, especially for older people and those with a disability. The selected projects will be supported going forwards and encouraged to share their findings. Since the onset of the global economic recession, underemployment among older workers had been growing more rapidly than unemployment, according to a paper from the Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn. Older Workers and Working Time,Discussion Paper 7546. The upper age limit for jurors has been raised from 70 to 75, to take account of changes in life expectancy, adding over 2 million people to the pool of potential jurors. 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.