A report published last week by the Centre for Cities demonstrates widening inequalities between richer and poorer areas of the UK. Many in less affluent areas, especially in the North and the Midlands, are facing a disproportionately large debt burden, meaning bounce-back from the pandemic will be …
Poverty and Inequality
Trussell Trust figures reveal a record number turning to foodbanks during the pandemic
A report published last week by the Trussell Trust reveals a record 2.5 million food parcels were distributed by their network of food banks in the past year. The figure represents a 33% increase on the previous year, including a disproportionately large increase in the number of parcels …
Trussell Trust figures reveal a record number turning to foodbanks during the pandemic
A report published last week by the Trussell Trust reveals a record 2.5 million food parcels were distributed by their network of food banks in the past year. The figure represents a 33% increase on the previous year, including a disproportionately large increase in the number of parcels …
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee report calls for action on rent debts
A report published today by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee calls for support for renters in the private sector who are in arrears, including a recommendation for funding for some rent debt write-off. It is welcome that the recommendations from the committee recognise …
How we forced Asylum Seekers to live in “filthy, impoverished and unsafe” barracks during a pandemic
The report into the conditions at Napier Barracks, a former army base where asylum seekers are now detained, makes appalling reading. The Government’s own inspectors set out how asylum seekers are still being forced into unsafe, unclean and unfit accommodation. It documents how that has led to …
Reaction to the Budget
In this Budget, the Chancellor faced the difficult task of setting financial and economic priorities at a time when unprecedented support has been needed, and continues to be needed, to help the country get through the pandemic. As well as setting out plans for the extension of that support, he had …
How could the government support families weighed down by debt on 3rd March?
In the upcoming budget, the Chancellor will set out a the UK’s financial path. This will be an opportunity to offer support for those hit hardest by the pandemic, including businesses, workers and families. In the budget, the Chancellor has the opportunity to do this by taking on the burden of …
Action Over Exclusion
“If you are from a black Caribbean background, you are three times more likely to be permanently excluded from school than other children.” (Theresa May, 2016) Such was the disparity Prime Minister Theresa May highlighted at her Party Conference speech in 2016. Twenty years of official …
The delayed impact of the debt crisis
In a recent opinion piece in the Guardian (16 December 2020), Phillip Inman and Patrick Collinson suggested that the greatest impact of debt forced onto families by Covid-19 would likely not be felt until 2022. Weighing up the delay on insolvency processes and the temporary impact of Covid …
Nehemiah revisited
Chris Butler is a company finance director and a member of Wesley Memorial Church in Oxford. Inspired by the Bible study on Nehemiah 5 at a group exploration session about the Reset the Debt campaign in his church, he imagines an uncomfortable encounter with a modern day …