Poverty and Inequality

UK ‘failing’ vulnerable children – BMA

16.05.13: Austerity policies of cutting welfare benefits and social care could “set the country back even further”, a report by the British Medical Association (BMA) has warned. The report highlights recent international data that ranked...

Welsh government reviews advice services

15.05.13: The Welsh government has published a review into services providing free advice for the public, as they manage reduced funding and rising demand. Organisations such as the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and Shelter Cymru have been analysed t...

£10m to tackle ‘revolving door’ of care for homeless people

14.05.13: Homeless people are more likely to be admitted to hospital or A&E, and are often discharged without their health and housing problems effectively addressed. The Government is providing £10m funding to help address this, by support...

Women 1st launches diversity guide

30.04.13: A new guide has been launched for employers to support women in the workplace and increase the number of women working in senior positions across the service industry. Women 1st has published ‘The Little Book of Diversity’, incl...

Glasgow suffering from digital divide

23.04.13: The digital divide in Glasgow risks worsening social inequality, a new report from the Carnegie UK Trust warns. Broadband uptake in this city is one of the lowest in the country, with just 60% of all residents and 47% of skilled manual workers o...

Local government ‘anti-poverty champions’ for Wales

18.04.13: The Welsh Government has created 22 ‘anti-poverty champions’, to help the poorest in society and to protect those most at risk. There will be two champions per local authority; one councillor and one senior council official. The...

A new approach to public health

01.04.13: Dominic Harrison, joint director of public health, engagement and partnerships at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, highlights the need to move towards a preference based social model of healthcare. Joint director of public health at B...

Myth-busting equality guidance published for public authorities

26.03.13: The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published new guidance to help public authorities in England comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). The guidance offers clear advice on what the law requires and practical examples o...

Children to ‘pay the price’ for benefit cuts – Archbishop of Canterbury

11.03.13: Planned welfare cuts could push 200,000 children into poverty, the Archbishop of Canterbury has warned. The Welfare Benefits Uprating Bill will cap benefit rises at 1% a year until 2016. In the past, benefits have risen with inflation, and...

‘Perverse’ bedroom tax means £100m disability spending gap – NHF

04.03.13: Disabled and vulnerable people must be exempt from the bedroom tax, the National Housing Federation has told the Government. Support pledged for those who will be hit by the bedroom tax through the fund for Discretionary Housing Payments (D...

Systems ‘not coping’ with ageing population – Lords

25.02.13: The ageing population will have a huge impact on health and social services, and there needs to be a robust plan to prepare for this, a new Lords committee will report. The committee on public service and demographic change has been taking...

Welfare to Work helps just 3.6% of participants

22.02.13: The Government’s Welfare to Work scheme is “failing”, the Public Accounts Committee has concluded. Its report found that the scheme only got 3.6% of people off benefits and into secure employment. The scheme was set up in...

Councils’ use of B&Bs for housing rises 800%

18.02.13: The use of B&Bs to house poor families for over six weeks has risen by 800% since the last general election, new figures show. Freedom of information requests by Labour to 325 councils, 242 of which responded, found that 125 reported pl...

£25,000 support for MPs to access mental health treatment

14.02.13: An annual budget has been approved to support MPs with mental health problems to access treatment, the Commons Members Estimate Committee (MEC) has announced. It is difficult for MPs to access local services because of their high profile, s...

Camden poor ‘to be relocated out of London’

14.02.13: Camden council is planning to move 761 poor families out of London into cheaper housing up to 200 miles away, it is reported. The plans come in the wake of the Coalition’s benefit cap, which limits total welfare payments to £500...