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Britain faces a decade of major public policy challenges that could reduce economic performance to nearer that of struggling Italy than Germany, Europe's powerhouse, a think-tank said on Tuesday.

The Resolution Foundation said Britain had to address problems linked to Brexit on top of those faced by other countries including the impact of COVID-19, the transition to a net-zero carbon economy, an ageing population and technological change.

Britain risks mirroring Italy’s economic woes unless it develops a strategy for tackling the five seismic changes that will shape a decisive decade for the country, a report has warned.

A joint project by the Resolution Foundation thinktank and the London School of Economics said the UK was neither used to nor prepared for the challenges posed by the aftermath of Covid-19, Brexit, the net zero transition, automation and a changing population.

In response to Covid-19, the Treasury is considering changes to the UK’s tax system on a scale not seen for decades. While changes to the tax system are much needed, there is a danger that reforms fixate on ​‘shoring up’ public finances after Covid-19, which would be the wrong approach and neglects the key reasons for an overhaul. Rather, the tax system offers a powerful tool to shape economic activity and combat systemic issues that long predated Covid-19, such as inequality and environmental degradation. Proposals for redesigning tax should reflect this capacity. If we are to achieve a green and just recovery from Covid-19, both the purpose and the sequencing of these proposals will be vital.

This head of a food charity said that ending food poverty in the UK "shouldn't all be about free hand outs."

Kath Dalmeny, is the Chief Executive of food charity Sustain and she was speaking to Iain Dale after a day of crazy scenes where the government made a U-turn on it's free school meal policy, which will be extended through summer 2020 thanks to a campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford.

LOW and middle-income households are more vulnerable to the next economic downturn as a result of the last financial crisis, a new study suggests.

A decade of weak income growth has left lower-income families in a more vulnerable position, said the Resolution Foundation.

It has previously warned that the risk of recession is at its highest level since 2007.

Low-income households in Britain are more vulnerable to recession than they were before the financial crisis, the Resolution Foundation has warned, amid the mounting risks of a Brexit downturn.

According to the thinktank, a decade of weak wage growth has left the poorest UK households and middle-income families less prepared for another downturn. It also warned the gradual dismantling of the benefits system under the policy of austerity imposed over the past decade by Conservative-led governments has left people without the same degree of support.

Young people are spending 7% less on non-housing items than they were in 2001, a new study suggests.

An 'intergenerational audit' published by the Resolution Foundation assesses whether the 20th century norm of each generation enjoying higher living standards than their predecessors still holds true.

The report identified a number of intergenerational living standards challenges facing Britain, including the fall in money spent by 18 to 29-year-olds on non-housing items, including recreation and eating out, returning their pay to pre-financial crisis levels, and a 'long road' to recovery on home ownership.

Living standards across the UK are expected to drop in the coming decade as the country grapples with the consequences of Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by a leading think tank released on Tuesday.

The UK faces “seismic changes” and shifts in its economy and the government must implement policies aimed at tackling the pertinent issues that will shape the decade to come, said The Economy 2030 Inquiry report published by the Resolution Foundation.

As Britain warily exits lockdown, the post-pandemic challenges that the country faces are looming large. On Tuesday, a study by the Resolution Foundation thinktank outlined some of them, including reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and managing the transition to automation in parts of the economy. The report also highlighted a new social divide, one that emerged in the context of Covid and is likely, in some form, to remain when the pandemic is behind us. In 2019, only 5% of employees worked mainly from home, but that number grew to almost 50% during the first and third lockdowns. Remote working has become particularly prevalent among the higher-paid and higher-educated, as a substantial part of the knowledge economy successfully migrates to affluent suburbs in London and elsewhere. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics this week reveal that 70% of all staff in Richmond upon Thames worked from home at some point during the pandemic. The equivalent figure in Burnley was less than 14%.

A WILTSHIRE charity has warned of the “devastating impact” of a scheduled cut to Universal Credit in April which could affect some of the poorest people in the county.

Staff and volunteers at Citizens Advice Wiltshire have helped 1,574 people with Universal Credit since March last year.

They say around 56 per cent of people in Wiltshire seeking advice on benefits have never contacted the charity before.

More than one-fifth of usual household spending has not been possible during the lockdown, Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis reveals.

In the financial year ending March 2019, UK households spent an average of £182 per week on activities that have since been largely prevented by government guidelines (such as travel, holidays and meals out).

This is equivalent to 22% of a usual weekly budget of £831, money that households could be saving, spending in other areas or using to cover any loss of income.

The income squeeze that followed the last financial crisis has left low and middle income households more vulnerable to the next economic shock than they were in 2008, according to the Resolution Foundation.

The think tank’s A Problem Shared? report examines the impact of recessions in the light of the financial crisis.

It found that a decade of weak income growth has left lower income families in a more vulnerable position than before the crisis hit. This is because they have less scope to reduce their spending on non-essentials should their incomes fall, while a higher proportion of this group have no savings to draw upon.

MIDDLE-CLASS families are at risk from the next recession, experts warn.

Households trying make ends meet are more vulnerable to a hit to the economy than they were at the time of the previous financial crash, according to the Resolution Foundation think-tank.

CASH-STRAPPED millennials are cutting back on “fun” while pensioners splash out, a shock new report found last night.

In a report that laid bare the inter-generational divide, a think tank said 18-29 year-olds were having to spend £23 a week less on recreation, restaurants and booze than 20 years ago because of the rising cost of basics.