Since 2018 the Commission on Social Security has been working on a plan for a decent social security system in the UK. The Commission has adopted a consensus building and participatory model and its work was supported by four secretariat members, including IER's Michael Orton.

The Commission has recently published its Plan calling for major changes, for example, replacing Universal Credit with a ‘Guaranteed Decent Income’ for all and the introduction of a new disability benefit. The Plan is available in a written and an audio version and it is accompanied by a Project Report and a Technical Note, that contain further details and the statistical modelling of the impact of the Commission’s proposals.

The COVID pandemic has exposed middle-class self-employed people who have lost work to the very low rates of benefit available on Universal Credit in the UK (even including the supplement recently added by the Treasury). Envious eyes have looked across the Channel to Germany where support for the unemployed is so much more generous.

In a recent edition of Radio 4’s Analysis programme, Professor Noel Whiteside described the historical origins of the very different systems of social insurance found in both countries.

Dr Michael Orton co-authored a journal article titled An agenda for fixing the social security/welfare benefits system that has been among the ten most read articles in the Journal of Poverty and Social Justice (JPSJ) in 2018. For free access until 28 February 2019 click here.

Batty, S. and Orton, M. (2018) ‘An agenda for fixing the social security/welfare benefits system’ Journal of Poverty and Social Justice 26 (2), 291-295.

Dr Mary Gatta from the School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University visited the University of Warwick this week sponsored by IER, Sociology and CREW. Dr Gata shared findings from her new book "All I Want is A Job" in a public lecture on 15 January. Her book reveals the experiences of unemployed women as they navigate the US public workforce system and struggle to survive unemployment during the great recession. The lecture brought together interviews with the unemployed and the "street­‐level bureaucrats" who service them, as well as her own experience of going undercover in the US system. Click here for more information on Mary's visit and other CREW events.

The ESRC is funding four groundbreaking research projects on what works in tackling poverty. In association with the Public Policy Institute for Wales, the aim of the research is to advance understanding of effective strategies for tackling poverty. Professor Anne Green is leading one of the projects on 'Harnessing growth sectors for poverty reduction: what works to reduce poverty through sustainable employment with opportunities for progression?'. Find out more about Anne's project, with Paul Sissons (University of Coventry), Neil Lee (LSE) and the Bevan Foundation, in her blog.