Publications
Social Policy in a Cold Climate
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The Effects of English Secondary School System Reforms (2002-2014) on Pupil Sorting and Social Segregation: A Greater Manchester Case Study
The English secondary school system has been undergoing rapid change. 60% of secondary schools are now Academies. Opponents of these changes fear, among other things, greater social segregation, while supporters argue t...Read more
Stephanie Thomson and Ruth Lupton
11 August 2017
New research evidence on social mobility and educational attainment
based on research by Jo Blanden, Claire Crawford, Ellen Greaves, Paul Gregg, Lindsey Macmillan, Abigail McKnight, Luke Sibieta and Anna Vignoles...Read more
John Hills
19 December 2016
Pulling in the Same Direction? Economic and Social Outcomes in London and the North of England Since the Recession
The Social Policy in a Cold Climate research programme had two major components: first an analysis of the social policies and spending of Labour and Coalition governments from 1997 to 2015, and theirimpacts on poverty, i...Read more
Polina Obolenskaya, Ruth Lupton and Bert Provan
13 July 2016
Understanding the improved performance of disadvantaged pupils in London
London is an educational success story, with especially good schooling results for more disadvantaged pupils. This is a dramatic reversal of fortunes. This paper uses a combination of administrative and survey data to ...Read more
Jo Blanden, Ellen Greaves, Paul Gregg, Lindsey Macmillan and Luke Sibieta
30 September 2015
Were we really all in it together? The distributional effects of the 2010-2015 UK Coalition government's tax-benefit policy changes: an end-of-term update
This paper examines the distributional impacts of the changes to benefits, tax credits, pensions and direct taxes between the UK Elections in May 2010 and in May 2015. It also looks ahead to the longer-term effects of ch...Read more
Paola De Agostini, John Hills and Holly Sutherland
1 September 2015
When and Why do Initially High Attaining Poor Children Fall Behind?
The role of education as a potential driver of social mobility has been well established in both the theoretical (Blau and Duncan, 1967; Becker and Tomes, 1986) and empirical literature (Atkinson, 1980; Atkinson and Jenk...Read more
Claire Crawford, Lindsey Macmillan and Anna Vignoles
28 July 2015
The Changing Anatomy of Economic Inequality in London (2007-2013)
In this report we examine changing patterns of inequality in London over the period 2007-2013. We examine how the distribution of key economic outcomes - including income and wealth, employment and unemployment, earnings...Read more
Polly Vizard, Polina Obolenskaya, Eleni Karagiannaki, Jack Cunliffe, Stephanie Thomson, Chris Grollman and Ruth Lupton
23 March 2015
Falling Behind, Getting Ahead: The Changing Structure of Inequality in the UK, 2007-2013
This report looks in detail at inequality within the UK, 2007-2013, which groups have gained and lost - comparing men and women, and housing tenure, region, ethnicity, and disability as well as age group. Detailed examin...Read more
John Hills, Jack Cunliffe, Polina Obolenskaya and Eleni Karagiannaki
23 March 2015
The Coalition's Record on Schools: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 2010-2015
In May 2010, David Cameron and Nick Clegg committed the Coalition to sweeping school reforms, promising ?a breaking open of the state monopoly?. They also pledged to protect school spending and give extra money to the ed...Read more
Ruth Lupton and Stephanie Thomson
1 February 2015
The Coalition's Record on Health: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 2010-2015
David Cameron promised in 2010 to 'cut the deficit, not the NHS'. But how have the Coalition's policies - including health reforms which are widely viewed as going beyond election commitments - impacted on health?...Read more
Polly Vizard and Polina Obolenskaya
26 January 2015
The Coalition's Record on Housing: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 2010-2015
Coalition Ministers were highly critical of the state of UK housing when they took power. How far were they able to improve a system they had described as 'dysfunctional'?...Read more
Rebecca Tunstall
26 January 2015
The Coalition's Record on Further Education, Skills and Access to Higher Education: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 2010-2015
The Coalition inherited some long-term problems in the provision of further education (FE) and skills training as well unresolved challenges about the funding of higher education (HE). What did it do and with what result...Read more
Ruth Lupton, Lorna Unwin and Stephanie Thomson
26 January 2015
The Coalition's Record on Employment: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 2010-2015
The Coalition came to power amid a continuing economic crisis and rising unemployment. How successfully did its active labour market policies contribute to employment growth?...Read more
Abigail McKnight
26 January 2015
The Coalition's Record on Adult Social Care: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 2010-2015
Approaching 1.3 million older people and younger disabled and mentally ill adults use social care services in England, and 3.2 million are cared for informally, by their families and friends. How did the Coalition respon...Read more
Tania Burchardt, Polina Obolenskaya and Polly Vizard
26 January 2015
The Coalition's Record on Area Regeneration and Neighbourhood Renewal: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 2010-2015
In the decade to 2010, substantial progess had been made to improve living conditions, and outcomes in the poorest neighbourhoods. But large gaps remained. This paper looks at how the Coalition tackled this issue, and wh...Read more
Ruth Lupton and Amanda Fitzgerald
26 January 2015
The Coalition's Social Policy Record: Policy Spending and Outcomes 2010-2015
This paper summarises nine detailed reports assessing the social policies of the UK Coalition government elected in 2010. What did the Coalition set out to achieve? How much was spent and saved? What policies were enacte...Read more
Ruth Lupton, Tania Burchardt, Amanda Fitzgerald, John Hills, Abigail McKnight, Polina Obolenskaya, Kitty Stewart, Stephanie Thomson, Rebecca Tunstall and Polly Vizard
26 January 2015
Were we really all in it together? The distributional effects of the UK Coalition government's tax-benefit policy changes
This paper examines the distributional impacts of the changes to benefits, tax credits, pensions and direct (but not indirect) taxes between the systems in place in May 2010 at the time of the Election and in 2014/15. It...Read more
Paola De Agostini, John Hills and Holly Sutherland
14 November 2014
Hard times, new directions? The impact of local government spending cuts on three deprived neighbourhoods. Final report.
In the context of what was described as the worst financial settlement in living memory for local government, we set out in this study to establish how residents living in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods of Lond...Read more
Amanda Fitzgerald, Ruth Lupton and Anne Marie Brady
16 October 2014
Hard Times, New Directions? The Impact of Local Government Spending Cuts in London (Interim Report Summary)
Key Points: London local government has taken a 33 per cent real terms cut in service funding from central government between 2009/10 and 2013/14. Councils have been making strenuous efforts to make large savings without...Read more
Amanda Fitzgerald and Ruth Lupton
15 May 2014
Education and Intergenerational Mobility: Help or Hindrance?
Evidence on intergenerational income mobility in the UK is dated. This paper seeks to update our knowledge by introducing new estimates of mobility for later measures of earnings in the 1958 and 1970 birth cohorts. Given...Read more
Jo Blanden and Lindsey Macmillan
27 March 2014
Hard Times, New Directions? The Impact of Local Government Spending Cuts in London (Interim Report)
Key Points: London local government has taken a 33 per cent real terms cut in service funding from central government between 2009/10 and 2013/14. Councils have been making strenuous efforts to make large savings without...Read more
Amanda Fitzgerald, Ruth Lupton, Ronan Smyth and Polly Vizard
18 December 2013
Prosperity, Poverty and Inequality in London 2000/01-2010/11
This report looks at changes in poverty and inequality in London during the 2000s, with a focus on the impact of recession from 2008. It also considers how a decade has changed the geography of poverty in the Capital....Read more
Ruth Lupton, Polly Vizard, Amanda Fitzgerald, Alex Fenton, Ludovica Gambaro and Jack Cunliffe
1 July 2013
Winners and Losers in the Crisis: The Changing Anatomy of Economic Inequality in the UK 2007 - 2010
Despite being better qualified than previous generations, people in their twenties were worst hit by the crisis in terms of unemployment, pay and incomes....Read more
John Hills, Jack Cunliffe, Ludovica Gambaro, Polina Obolenskaya and Ruth Lupton
1 July 2013
Labour's Record on Neighbourhood Renewal in England: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 1997-2010
When he came to power in 1997, Tony Blair reacted to widening disparities between poorer and richer neighbourhoods by declaring that no one in future decades should be seriously disadvantaged by where they lived. What po...Read more
Ruth Lupton, Alex Fenton and Amanda Fitzgerald
1 July 2013
Labour's Record on Education: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 1997-2010
As we write in 2013, a broad consensus appears to have emerged in English politics about the importance of reducing educational inequalities between richer and poorer pupils, as well as improving educational standards ov...Read more
Ruth Lupton and Polina Obolenskaya
1 July 2013
Labour's Record on Health (1997-2010)
The aim of this research report is to provide an overall evaluation of Labour?s record on health 1997-2010 as an input into the Social Policy in a Cold Climate research programme. The report summarises, brings together a...Read more
Polly Vizard and Polina Obolenskaya
30 June 2013
Labour's Social Policy Record: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 1997-2010
This is the first major report in a wider programme assessing the impact of the recession, government policy reforms and public spending on poverty and inequality in the UK. Later work will assess the Coalition?s social ...Read more
Ruth Lupton, John Hills, Kitty Stewart and Polly Vizard
29 June 2013
Low-demand Housing and Unpopular Neighbourhoods Under Labour
When the last Labour government took office in 1997, pledging to combat social exclusion, renew neighbourhoods and eliminate `no-go? areas, a critical issue was to address the phenomenon of `low-demand? housing and unpop...Read more
Alex Fenton and Ruth Lupton
25 June 2013
The Distribution of Local Government Finance by Local Authority-Level Deprivation
This research note describes the methodology adopted in SPCC to track the relationship between central government spending and deprivation at the local authority level, thus addressing the question, over time and under d...Read more
Ruth Lupton, Amanda Fitzgerald and Alex Fenton
1 May 2013
Social Policy in a Cold Climate: A Framework for Analysing the Effects of Social Policy
In the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007/8, social policy and the welfare state in the UK have been undergoing a period of extraordinary change. After a decade of welfare state expansion to 2007, with part...Read more
Ruth Lupton, Tania Burchardt, John Hills, Kitty Stewart and Polly Vizard
22 April 2013