Episodios

  • 25. Are government reforms to disability benefits and support going to work?

    25. Are government reforms to disability benefits and support going to work?
    Jun 6 2025
    The government has set out new measures to cut benefits and boost employment for disabled people. But will its strategy work? Tom Pollard, Head of Social Policy at the New Economics Foundation and a seasoned commentator joins us to discuss what is proposed and gives his view on whether the measures will be effective.
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    36 m
  • 24. How can we tackle child poverty?

    24. How can we tackle child poverty?
    Mar 27 2025
    Mubin speaks to Alison Garnham from Child Poverty Action Group about what can be done to reduce child poverty in the UK. They discuss how child poverty has been reduced in the past and how policy really can reduce child poverty. The Trust has funded the following reports on child poverty: Exploring the lived experiences of childcare for parents on Universal Credit Financial stress and maternity leave How to improve the system for people migrating from legacy benefits Flexible affordable childcare solutions
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    35 m
  • 23. How can we make inheritance tax fair?

    23. How can we make inheritance tax fair?
    Dec 17 2024
    Episode 23: Inheritance Taxation Mubin speaks to Dan Goss from Demos and David Sturrock from the Institute for Fiscal Studies about their research on inheritance taxation. For more information on inheritance tax you can read the following reports funded by the Trust: Inheritance Tax reliefs: time for reform? Options to repair inheritance taxation in Britain Raising revenue from closing inheritance tax loopholes
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    48 m
  • 22. What does the Budget mean for living standards?

    22. What does the Budget mean for living standards?
    Nov 8 2024
    Mubin and Carl drill down into what was announced in October’s budget. What does it mean for people's living standards, the British economy, and whether we will see an end to stagnation? The interview Mubin asks Carl Emmerson, Deputy Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, about the October 2024 Budget. On taxes, the Chancellor raised an extra 40 billion pounds a year. Did she go far enough or did she go too far? And how coherent was it as a tax plan? On fuel duty, it was quite a surprise there was no change. Does Carl think that showed some of the risk averseness that the government has? Carl discusses big tax rises. The Chancellor pledged to no return to austerity. What does this extra tax and borrowing mean for public services? Some departments, like the NHS and overseas aid, are going to be getting 4-5% increases in spending. And that's going to mean a lot less for other departments, particularly given how much the NHS takes up as a percentage of public spending. What's actually happening in terms of growth? What are the changes on employer's National Insurance contributions. Who will be affected and how? Has the government effectively raised taxes on working people? Did the government get it right on the changes made to inheritance tax? Capital gains tax. We saw the rate increase and it was a modest increase. Was that the right level? Will the changes to wealth taxation have any significant impacts on people migrating? Was there really a fiscal black hole of £22 billion? The next fiscal event is going to be the spending review. What are we expecting in relation to that?
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    46 m
  • 21. Beyond the triple lock - what else are the parties offering?

    21. Beyond the triple lock - what else are the parties offering?
    Jul 2 2024
    With both of the main political parties claiming your pension is not safe with the other, and that they will keep the triple lock, we drill down into what the parties are offering, whether it’s enough for the future and how they will deliver it. For this episode Mubin is joined by David Gauke. David is a British political commentator, solicitor and former politician who was the Member of Parliament for South West Hertfordshire from 2005 to 2019. David has served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. He is also a member for the Pensions Review steering group.
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    35 m
  • 20. Public Spending – Investment or austerity 2.0?

    20. Public Spending – Investment or austerity 2.0?
    Feb 21 2024
    As we approach the general election, the political parties will set out their stalls. What will their spending promises be? What might they cut? How will they pay for it all? We speak to Gemma Tetlow about how it all works. What is public spending? How much room is there for change? What are some of the big ticket areas of expenditure? Mubin asks questions about what is driving changes in public spending: To what extent are changes in spending being driven by demographics – for example our aging population, migration? We’ve got some big commitments coming such as the NHS workforce development plan and the childcare commitments. Can you tell us a bit about those and what pressures that’s going to create? Are tax rises inevitable or are tax cuts the answer? What might we see in relation to infrastructure commitments? What are the parties committing to? Is it possible to say what these different approaches mean for living standards?
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    41 m
  • 19. The Living Standards Election?

    19. The Living Standards Election?
    Jan 29 2024
    Guests • Torsten Bell, Resolution Foundation • Clare Moriarty, Citizens Advice We discuss how the squeeze on living standards might influence the general election. Guests consider where people are feeling the squeeze, how that has changed over time, and how likely it is to influence the way they vote in the upcoming general election. Mubin asks Claire and Torsten what can be done to improve living standards and they talk about how we could all aim to be a bit more Dutch. Questions include: And what’s driving the stagnation in real incomes? Who’s particularly affected? High inflation has been a key factor in the cost of living crisis, but that’s been tumbling. However, interest rates have been rising. Is the crisis over now? What’s the picture like in countries similar to the UK? Have they been facing the same squeeze on living standards? What measures have the government [and others] brought in to help people weather this period? Will this be the Living Standards election? How concerned are voters by this issue? Where are our political parties promising in relation to living standards? What’s your take on what we’ve been offered. Is it enough? Do we have the money to pay for this? Given the state of the public finances – high debt repayments; tax levels high, but not as high as Europe; existing spending commitments like the NHS workforce plan
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    37 m
  • 18. Employment: How can political parties get Britain working?

    18. Employment: How can political parties get Britain working?
    Jan 4 2024
    What is the state of employment in the UK? How many people are unemployed? Has this gone up or down since the pandemic and is enough being done to get people back into work? Guests • Nita Clarke, Involvement and Participation Association • Tony Wilson, Institute for Employment Studies In this podcast we speak to Nita and Tony about the labour market in the UK. What the post-pandemic labour market recovery has looked like, how the UK is faring compared to other OECD countries and what needs to be done to help people into work. We also ask the experts questions including: Who’s not in paid work and why? And what are the future trends? Is employment growth set to halve? What will an older population mean? What is being done on developing skills and improving the workforce? Where are the political parties offering in relation to improving this provision? How does conditionality work? Does it lead to more people in the workforce? The growth in insecure work. What does this mean in practice and have we seen any recent improvements in employment practice? To what extent can workers, especially those who are low-paid and in insecure work, enforce existing rights? What are the parties proposing to improve rights and reduce insecurity?
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    35 m