Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Joseph Rowntree Foundation

@jrf-uk.bsky.social

20K followers 1.4K following 490 posts

We work to speed up and support the transition to a future free from poverty, in which people and planet can flourish. https://www.jrf.org.uk/

www.jrf.org.uk

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · Jan 29

4.3 million children are in poverty

UK govt won’t see progress on child poverty by 2029 even with high economic growth 📢

Our analysis shows under our central scenario only Scotland will see child poverty rates fall by 2029 in part due to social security policies 1/5

4 220 230

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 6h

Everyone deserves a decent affordable home, work that gives us enough to get by on, and where we all have enough to afford the bills.

Politicians can make the right decisions today to build a better future for us all 🗣️

Read our report: www.jrf.org.uk/poverty-in-scotland-2025 3/3

Poverty in Scotland 2025

Poverty is still too high, people are feeling overlooked and ignored by politicians — the next Scottish Parliament is vital for a better future for children in Scotland.

www.jrf.org.uk

4 8

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 6h

We found:

- Over 6 in 10 people in poverty live in a household where someone works

- Over 4 in 10 people in a family in receipt of a low-income benefit like Universal Credit are in poverty

- 1 in 10 people in rented accommodation are pulled into poverty due to housing costs 2/3

1 5 5

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 6h

A million people in Scotland are in poverty.

📝 Our latest report shows the results of today’s failures on tackling poverty, but there is so much we can do to make things better, if our politicians have the courage to act boldly. 1/3

2 9 14

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 2d

Scotland Demands Better because getting it right today, will build a better future for us all.

Read our Poverty in Scotland report: www.jrf.org.uk/poverty-in-scotland-2025 4/4

4 8

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 2d

It is crucial that the next parliament focuses on the things that matter to people, like tackling child poverty. 🗣️

Ensuring parents have access to flexible work and affordable childcare, investment in affordable housing and an adequate social security system are essential. 3/4

1 2 8

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 2d

Scottish gov identified 6 priority families where children are at greater risk of poverty

- Nearly 9 in 10 children in poverty are in a priority family

- Children in 2 or more priority family groups are more than 4x as likely to be in poverty than children in none of them 2/4

1 3

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 2d

Around 1 in 4 children in Scotland are living in poverty.

Poverty remains far too high, and people are feeling overlooked and ignored by politicians.

The next Scottish Parliament is an opportunity to build a better future for all children in Scotland. 🔽 1/4

2 27 44

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 6d

Find the latest online listening research: demos.co.uk/research/its...

“It’s tough out there”: An online forum listening exercise revealing how people are talking about financial hardship

Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.

demos.co.uk

1 1

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 6d

We have heard about how the welfare system treats those that depend on it, including poor communication, limited transparency, delays, and long waiting times.

But a welfare system is possible 🗣️

Read the latest blog from @j-hancock.bsky.social: demos.co.uk/blogs/puttin...

Putting humanity at the heart of welfare

Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.

demos.co.uk

1 3 9

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 6d

A better welfare system is possible - one that treats people with dignity, compassion, and care 🤝

In our latest online listening with @demos-uk.bsky.social, we continue to see people's experience of the welfare system as inaccessible, inflexible, and inhumane. 1/2

2 9 22

Reposted by Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Jamie Hancock @j-hancock.bsky.social · 6d

“I’m feeling sick from fear about this transition from Employment Support Allowance to Universal Credit. I’ve lost several hundred pounds”

This is one of hundreds of stories from my research into financial hardship and the welfare system with @jrf-uk.bsky.social

Putting humanity at the heart of welfare

Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.

demos.co.uk

2 7 8

Reposted by Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Demos @demos-uk.bsky.social · 7d

✍ NEW BLOG | Putting humanity at the heart of welfare

@j-hancock.bsky.social reflects on 13 years of online conversations evidencing the enduring challenges that people face when navigating the #welfare system.

This blog draws from our ongoing Online Listening research with @jrf-uk.bsky.social.

Putting humanity at the heart of welfare

Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.

demos.co.uk

1 5 2

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 8d

How can leaders in our struggling public institutions support the emergence of alternatives? 🤝

Find out about our new initiative with @kinship.works in this blog from @mssophiaparker.bsky.social and @jamestplunkett.bsky.social: medium.com/@jamestplunk...

The Centre for the Edge

A new initiative to help public sector leaders support emerging alternatives

medium.com

2 8

Reposted by Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Alfie Stirling @alfie-stirling.bsky.social · 9d

"More wage growth in first 10 months of Labour than in first 10 years of Conservatives" is true only on a technicality, due to Covid.

The reality is wages have been terrible for 15 years and the present government are reproducing the average almost perfectly.

That's also what people are feeling.

3 10

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 9d

🌐 These steps should form a crucial part of the broader Child Poverty Strategy expected later this autumn.

It would clearly help to achieve ambitious progress on child poverty overall - as well as making good on Labour's commitment to improving living standards for all.

3 5

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 9d

By the end of this parliament:

- Around 2.1 million children would be benefiting from these policies.

- 📉 Half a million children would be lifted out of poverty.

- The depth of poverty for another million children would be reduced.

1 3 6

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 9d

For couples with children, the policies together would reduce the average decline in living standards by a third (32%)

For lone parents disposable income would actually grow by £320 (1.2%)

💡It shows child poverty is not inevitable - government can make a real difference.

Graph showing the impact on living standards between September 2024 and September 2029 if the two child limit in universal credit is removed, as well as with a protected minimum floor in the system - lone parents would see their household disposable income increase while couples with children would see the reduction in their household disposable income reduced by about a third.

1 3 4

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 9d

📢Without action, families with children will see their incomes fall by the end of this Parliament.

But our new analysis shows it doesn't have to be this way.

Scrapping the two-child limit and adding a protected minimum floor into Universal Credit could reverse this trend. 🧵

Graph showing the change in living standards for different family types over the period 2019/20 to 2029/30, showing lone parents and couples with children set to be worst impacted without policy interventions.

1 16 28

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 13d

This would represent the worst living standards record of any parliament since detailed records began in 1961.

🔎 Find our latest analysis: www.jrf.org.uk/news/time-ru... 3/3

Time running out to prevent decade of falling incomes

The government faces a profound threat from falling living standards unless decisive policy action is taken to boost families' disposable incomes.

www.jrf.org.uk

1 4 6

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 13d

Our latest modelling on household disposable incomes after housing costs shows that by the end of the parliament 📉

- Disposable incomes will be on average £570 lower per year than today.
- Families in the bottom third of incomes will see disposable income fall by £1,110 per year 2/3

1 1 8

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 13d

We're on track for a decade of decline in families’ disposables incomes by the end of the parliament. But this is not inevitable.

The gov can introduce targeted policies like investing in social security, and interventions in key areas like housing and energy.

Listen on @lbc.co.uk 🔽

1 17 21

Reposted by Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Iain Porter @iainkporter.bsky.social · 14d

Introducing a protected minimum floor together with ending the two-child limit would lift 500,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament and reduce the depth of poverty for a further 1 million. 6/6

Read more here: www.jrf.org.uk/child-povert...

Three policies to reduce child poverty this parliament

This briefing sets out which children are at greatest risk of such severe and acute poverty, and what a child poverty strategy must include to address it.

www.jrf.org.uk

11 22

Reposted by Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Iain Porter @iainkporter.bsky.social · 14d

The benefit cap disproportionately hits families already at high risk of poverty. Of families with children affected:

- around 5 in 6 are single-parent families
- over half have 3 or more children
- over half have a youngest child under 5 years old

3/6

Image of DWP chart showing number of capped UC single parent households by age of youngest child at May 2025. Of single-parent UC capped households, 48,000 (61%) have at least one child aged under 5 years at May 2025. In the same month there were 23,000 (29%) of single-parent UC capped households having a child aged under 2 years.

1 3 9

Reposted by Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Iain Porter @iainkporter.bsky.social · 14d

New DWP data today shows 123,000 families – including 103,000 (over 4 in 5) with children – had their Universal Credit reduced by the benefit cap in May 2025.

This eats into UC’s already inadequate basic rate, pulling it further below what’s needed to afford life's essentials. 1/6

Image of DWP chart showing proportion of UC capped households by number of children, Great Britain, May 2025. It shows households with 2 or 3 children are the most common family sizes (34% and 27% respectively). The least common family sizes are 5 or more children (7%) and one child (9%). There were 18% of households capped in UC without children.

2 24 32

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 15d

You can also join us in person at St Paul's and St George's Church, Edinburgh. Sign up here: update.jrf.org.uk/p/7ADY-KFH/p...

Thank you for subscribing to JRF updates

update.jrf.org.uk