Research on living standards has, therefore, become even more valuable to policymakers

Research on living standards has, therefore, become even more valuable to policymakers, such as the work of Loughborough University's Centre for Research

Loughborough University’s Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) has been conducting its Minimum Income Standards research since 2008. The work sets out a socially acceptable standard of living for people in the UK based on detailed research with groups of members of the public who discuss and reach agreement about what is needed to live with dignity.

Recently, CRSP, which is co-directed by Professor Abigail Davis and Professor Matt Padley, has been cutting through to parliamentarians and the public.

At the end of March, Professor Padley and Research Fellow Dr Juliet Stone were invited to give oral evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee’s Inquiry on Pensioner Poverty. This was following written evidence they submitted which answered a number of questions that the Inquiry were seeking to answer including:

* What is the nature, extent and causes of pensioner poverty in the UK today?

* What are the key issues in the design and operation of the state pension system?

* What policies might be undertaken by the government to reduce pensioner poverty?

In the evidence session, Professor Padley highlighted that a key aspect of tackling pensioner poverty is ensuring that people have an adequate income at all points in their lives. On the pension system as a whole, he talked about the need to focus on equitable outcomes for pensioners rather than the current more transactional approach of getting out what you “pay in”.

Dr Stone drew the Inquiry member’s attention to the Centre’s work, undertaken with end-of-life charity Marie Curie, on people living with a terminal illness who experience fuel poverty. She also emphasised the need for a more joined-up, cross-departmental approach within government, to addressing the challenge of pensioner poverty.

There has been a lot of coverage recently about the Government’s proposed welfare cuts, coupled with the rise of a number of household bills that came into force in April, and researchers at CRSP have been discussing these in the media. Katherine Hill, Research Fellow at the Centre commented on the proposed welfare cuts, saying that: “Disabled people are already financially disadvantaged - they face a higher poverty rate than non-disabled households and are more likely to use a food bank - so health-related benefits are essential to many of the households that receive them.”

On the rise of bills, Dr Elaine Robertson wrote an article in The Conversation in which she outlines the challenges that different groups of society will face with the increases and stated that the current help offered by the Government is not enough to help these groups.

At a time when a large number of people in the UK are facing financial pressures it is important that research, such as that undertaken by CRSP, is visible to policy makers and the media.

To find out more about the work of the Centre, visit their website or email CRSP@lboro.ac.uk