The Price we Pay- The full impact of the cost of living crisis - A report and comments in the presentation from the National Centre for Policy Research

National Centre For Policy Research Society Watch 2023 I attended the National Centre for Policy Research presentation of their Society Watch 2023 entitled The social Impact of the Cost of Living Crisis. What follows is a summary of what I g,earned from the Presentation. Poverty Rates after Housing Costs (AHC) in 2021/22 were 22% as high as they have been in 20: years. The proportion of people on low income who were in deep poverty (that is those whose earnings were less than 40% of the median income AHC) rose from 35% in 2001/02 to 42% in 2021/22. Poverty rates for children, renters, people living in cities, people living with disability, and for Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Black ethnic groups, were higher. ThThe effect of the cost of living crisis (and of Covid) has been different between different groups. Overall savings rose and debt fell during the pandemic but this was true for richer rather than poorer people. The pandemic saw a rise in the proportion of younger people with mental health problems and more working age people out of the labour market due to Ill health. The l8kely hood of people cutting back on savings increased in reverse proportion to the level of affluence and there was a corresponding likelyhood of falling into debt (ie the poorer you were the more likely you cut back on savings and ended up in debt). These issues were reflected in daily life with the proportion of people eating less fruit and meat increasing by 50%. There was around a 10% increasing in the following groups:. Those skipping a meal, running out of food and being unable to buy more, going hungry. The number of food parcels given out by the Tressell Foundation doubled. There was also a major effect on the ability of groups to keep clean and warm. As far as health and anxiety - men expressed higher levels of worry than women.54% were stressed over money and 28% lost sleep over the cost of living. The NHS reported more patients seeking help for mental hea,th issues and a rise in conditions associated with fuel and food poverty. Academics and Social Research suggests that deprivation and material insecurity can be scarring for individuals - Financial insecurity can lead to mental health problems and problems with dealing with money. Food insecurity can lead to obesity, mental health issues and impaired development at school. Housing quality and instability can lead to health impacts in damp and cold houses, instability affects attainment and earnings. [The report noted that these also create the risk of long term impacts on productivity, public finance and societal well being] The report concludes that most people have coped so far by cutting back on non essential spending and leaning on savings and credit. But a substantial minority are already struggling to meet basic needs. Recent inflation figures and interest rises suggest that the crisis is persistent, so as people borrow more, save less, and draw down on savings, are they nearing the end of the road? Government has already intervened to mitigate the impact of price rises and more action may be needed to prevent scarring. ——————- The second speaker was Dr Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Food Foundation. She began by noting that our food environment influences what we eat. Since April 2022 the cost of a basket of basic food has gone up from £43.52 to £55.15. That is an increase of more than 25%. In January 2923, 9.3 million households (that is 17%, one in every 6 households) experienced food insecurity. This included half of those households who are on Universal Credit.The effect of this is that those households cut back on healthy food. But price is not the on,y factor. The Food Foundation has produced a report, entitled ‘The Broken Plate’. The issues involved include the affordability of a healthy diet. The cost of healthy food is increasing more than other types of food. A second factor is related to the advertising of food. More is spent on advertising foods which are high in fats and sugar. Offers are often geared towards unhealthy food. The most deprived section of the community eats less fruit and veg, oily fish a d dietary fibre. Problems associated with poor diet include children’s dental decay, children’s growth, children’s weight (obesity), and diabetes related amputations (reflecting the effect on diabetes generally). It also Hasan effect on age expectancy. Dr Brinsden outlined what needs to be done. She suggested That healthier food be made more affordable by, for example, removing VAT from healthy out of home food and considering the cost of a healthy diet when determining benefit thresholds. Stop junk food escalation for example through marketing restrictions, mandatory reporting of health targets by food companies, and strengthen processors Invest in children’s diets fir example free school meals, Healthy start expansion and value, school fruit and veg schemes expansion. Make it easier to eat sustainably eg sustainability with eat well plate, advertising healthy and sustainable ke foods, production of minimally processed food Unleash the full potential of the food system, eg food system outcomes established, transparency and reporting, ptocurement, Food Buy She then outlined what was being asked for. They are calling for the Bovernment to urgently extend the eligibility for free school meals. That means all children in state funded schools in England from families in receipt of Universal Credit should become eligible for free school meals immediately. Then this should be seen as the first step towards a longer goal for the Government to provide comprehensively funded, nutritious school food for all children. With reference to Healthy Start, they note that only two constituencies have reached the 78% uptake target set by Government. Also the value has not been increased with inflation. No formula milk is a ailable for the price of the voucher. They call for a Government campaign to increase uptake, to in erase value in line with inflation and to expand the scheme until a child goes to school. They call for a ‘Kid’s Food Guarantee’. —————— There followed a panel discussion in which The Futures Fiundation, the Nuffield Foundation and the Bishop of Durham (who is responsible in the Church of England for Bildern and Refugees), gave their views. The spokesperson for the Futures Foundation dealt with the need to evaluate the help given to young people with an emphasis on the matter of their employment. The Nuffield Foundation referred to the stagnation of wage growth. She also raised the issue of benefits especially in terms of the benefit cap, the limitation to two children a d the problem of larger families. One issue was the cost of after school clubs.Two problems with low income were mental health and financial resilience. She a,so e Orestes concern over digital exclusion and called fir minimum digital standards. She questioned the ability of people to make a difference. As an example, changing work patterns creates uncertainty such as the effect on benefits. She called for income support, macro policies, ringing down of inflation and competitive policy.She referred to the Resolution Foundation 2039 report on growth, employment and benefits. The Bishop of Durham drew attention to in work poverty. He noted that Universal Credit is a system based on getting people into work. It salary levels are inadequate. Benefits can take money away. He also discussed the question of relationship poverty. He noted that when relationships are not working this can lead to entail health problems. Money worries can lead to people taking up more work and this in turn can lead to relationship problems. He saw a need to encourage relationships. He referred to the Broken Plate Report. He asked how do we eat? When? With whom? The poorest are most hit in these matters particularly if this involves not having time with children and partners and so forth. He referred to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Tressell Foundation and to the Church working Commission on Mental Health and Warm Welcome (food banks may provide warm welcome!). Other issues that arose were the need for good apprenticeships to help the most deprived children into employment (targeting). The problem of poverty is affected by disability and the number of children.the need fir support for low income groups in terms of the transition to net zero. There is a growth in poverty in the private renting with a problem in housing. The Bishop noted the fact that the poor contribute least to the problem of climate change. The work of the Institute of Fiscal Studies, the Resolution Foundation and Gus McDonald were mentioned. The Report ‘The Price we pay - The Full Impact of the Cost-of-Living Crisis’ can be found at https://natcen.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-07/Society%20Watch%202023_The%20Price%20We%20Pay_the%20social%20impact%20of%20the%20cost%20of%20living%20crisis.pdf [From a personal point of view I felt that the people involved in this event were seeking solutions within the present system.I asked whether the participants felt that the present economic system ( based on the accumulation of profit and not on meeting the needs of people) could provide solutions to the problems raised] SCRIBAR. 7.7.23