New Year, New Name, New Grants
Just a reminder that we changed our name last month, we are now abrdn Financial Fairness Trust.
We start January with only a month to go until our next funding deadline. If you have an idea for a research, campaign or policy project which will help people on low-to-middle incomes and needs funding, have a read of our funding guidelines and get in touch. The deadline is 1pm on 4th February.
As well as fresh starts, a new year is also a time for looking back and reflecting. Last month, we published a review of the research into the financial impact of the pandemic. The University of Bristol's Personal Finance Research Centre reviewed over 240 documents included official statistics, academic journal articles and research reports. The report assessed the overall financial impact of the pandemic on UK households, and impacts by age, sex, race and disability. Whilst the big picture is positive, it masks more acute problems faced by specific groups. If you’re interested in reflecting on the evidence, it can be found here.
Project in focus
Last month we published the latest report from our regular tracker series, which has been monitoring the impact of the pandemic on household finances. We found that for every household that saw its financial situation improve since the start of the pandemic (21% of the UK), two households saw their financial situation get a little or a lot worse (38%).This was particularly the case for those on Universal Credit, who are really struggling and do not see things improving in the near future: the financial outlook is poor for over 8 in 10. Not surprising given the rising prices we are all facing, but particularly distressing for people on lower incomes who already spend the greatest proportion of their income on essentials such as food and bills.
Read the press release.
Read the full report.
What we like this month
Solutions to issues which arise when young people live with their parents.
Last month we published a report by the University of Loughborough on what happens when there is no Bank of Mum and Dad. Having a young adult living in the family home can mean additional costs which can particularly impact lower income families. We found that families on low incomes can lose between £300-£680 a month in Universal Credit and Child Benefit when a child leaves secondary level education or training and stops being considered as ‘dependent’ (usually around the age of 18). Families find this sudden cliff-edge loss tough to deal with and can be caught out by the income shock they will face.
Researchers have developed policy solutions which would mean those on lower incomes are not penalised if their young adult children live with them. Take a look.
In the news
Our CEO, Mubin Haq, was interviewed in Holyrood Magazine on child poverty in Scotland.
The latest report from our partnership with Resolution Foundation into wealth in the UK urged policy makers to consider applying capital gains tax to increases in the value of main residences. It was reported in the Guardian and other national newspapers.
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