unemployment

Providing tailored one-to-one support to help people back into work has been central to the UK Government's reform of the welfare system. This report argues that a new examination is needed on the role of personal advisers. The report is based on focus groups with service users, in-depth interviews with advisers, surveys of personal advisers and employment providers and a review of the literature. Qualitative analysis is presented to show changes in the ratio of Job Centre Plus advisers to the number of interviews they conducted since the recession began.

With unemployment rising steadily for the first time since the early 1990s, the adequacy of JSA (the social security benefit paid to people who are unemployed and looking for work) is a matter of acute importance. Taking account of inflation, its value has not changed in thirty years.

The New Policy Institute has produced its 2009 edition of indicators of poverty and social exclusion in Wales, providing a comprehensive analysis of trends. This is the second update of Monitoring poverty and social exclusion in Wales, following the original report in 2005, but is the first to be published in a recession. After reviewing ten-year trends in low income statistics, its focus shifts to unemployment and problem debt.

This working paper reviews the evidence on the impact of the last three economic recessions on the PSA 8 (indicator 2) disadvantaged groups (that is, disabled people, ethnic minorities, lone parents, people aged 50 and over, the 15 per cent lowest qualified, and those living in the most deprived local authority wards), as well as ex-offenders and the self-employed.

Report assessing the effects of economic recession on different social groups in the UK. It concludes that young people, men and those living in deprived areas are worst affected and recommends that retraining and upskilling should be carried out to enable people to compete successfully in the labour market.

Paper discussing how women are disadvantaged by the pensions and social security system and arguing for changes which take account of changing work patterns and a recognition that the caring responsibilities often undertaken by women are of value to society as a whole.

Ingeus has grown to become a leading provider of services that make a positive, lasting difference to people's lives

This discussion paper sets out further detail about how the Government plans to implement the recommendations of the Gregg Review on personalised conditionality and support (published in December 2008). In particular it focuses on the supportive framework we want to put in place to help many more parents with younger children and Employment and Support Allowance claimants to prepare for work. Putting this framework in place should ensure further progress in our aim to support families, promote employment and eradicate child poverty.

The report describes the current strengths and weaknesses in policy provision to combat child poverty when parental employment is constrained and is a timely analysis given the approaching 2010 deadline for halving child poverty from 1999 levels. The analysis uses original and unique tax-benefit modelling of current provision across a range of low-paid and out-of-work family profiles.

Paper highlighting the 'skills paradox' in the UK whereby those lacking basic skills are least likely to participate in formal learning. It identifies policies which can help rectify this trend and argues for a coherent skills strategy which takes equally into account the labour market, the training system and people's everyday lives.