Park (pictured) joined ESRC as director of research in January 2019 from the UCL Social Research Institute, where she was professor of social research and director of Cohort and Longitudinal Studies Enhancement Resources (Closer).

Prior to UCL, Park led the research team at NatCen responsible for studies including Understanding Society, the British Social Attitudes Survey and the European Social Survey.

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.

The R rate, cases per 100,000 – we’ve all got used to regular data updates in the last year, but other numbers behind the scenes are helping to shape our response to the pandemic too.

In January, the government announced £23 million in funding to help councils in England fight coronavirus misinformation and get high-risk communities vaccinated.

This was a vital and welcome step, because as many as 72% of Black people have said they are unlikely to accept the vaccine, even though mortality for Black African and Caribbean people has been 2-2.5 times higher than for White people.

A NEW study has revealed that white teenagers are twice as likely to have taken hard drugs compared to ethnic minorities, and are three times more likely to report binge drinking-drinking five or more drinks at a time.

The study by the University College London’s (UCL) Centre for Longitudinal Studies analysed behaviours of Generation Z and found one in ten teenagers had tried hard drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine, by the age of 17, reported The Telegraph.

The cost of bringing 381 East Riding council houses up to government decency standards could run as high as £1.2m.

Housing Ministry figures showed around 3 per cent of East Riding Council's stock failed Decent Homes Standards as of March 2020.

New research has raised important questions over whether government’s current approach to decarbonising off gas grid homes is achievable unless rural households are offered a significant increase in funding to cover the high costs involved.

Existing policy plans propose switching most off-grid homes with fossil fuel heating to electric heat pumps and, in some cases, solid biomass or hybrid systems.

Annual house price growth reached 6.4% in January 2021, representing a decrease from 7.3% in December, Nationwide’s House Price Index has found.

Prices averaged at £229,748 in January, after falling by 0.3% month-on-month.

Covering the period from October 2019 to September 2020, the statistics include the first six months of COVID-19 restrictions and show a 9% fall in most victim-based crime including sexual offences, robbery, assaults causing injury, theft and criminal damage. However, there was a 10% increase in domestic abuse-related offences.

Commenting on the figures, chief constable Andy Cooke (the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for crime operations) said: “These statistics show the overall level of crime has broadly decreased. We’ve seen sustained falls in crime recorded through periods of national lockdowns as the public have largely stayed at home and helped to stop the spread of the COVID virus.”

The coronavirus pandemic has held up a “mirror to the structural racism” in the UK’s labour market, the TUC has said, as a study reveals that jobless rates among black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups are double the rate for white people.

There are 1.74 million people out of work across the UK, the highest level in five years, and business shutdowns are disproportionately affecting women and ethnic minorities.

Pupils at Hermitage Park Primary in Leith are continuing their lessons from home, thanks to the Hibernian Community Foundation’s donations of multi-purpose lap desks.
Hibs have a long and proud tradition of working to support local communities and the creation of the Hibernian Community Foundation as an independent charity in 2008 signalled a clear commitment to step up the efforts to have wider scope and greater impact.

WHEN the great lockdown took place on 23 March 2020, it was those aged 70 and over who were advised to stay at home to shield themselves from the virus and to save the NHS.

The British Social Attitudes Survey (Volume 36, 2019) reminds us that it is these older people who are most likely to regard themselves as Anglicans: 33 per cent of those aged 70 and above, compared with one per cent of those aged between 18 and 24. These older people who were shielding may be particularly important for the future of the Church of England.

AFTER SHE read that The Voice had challenged a local authority and helped a key worker find better housing, another woman in a similar position reached out to us.

The mother-of-four, who would prefer to remain anonymous is living in a two bedroom property in Croydon council and has four children.

A full time nurse, who has been working hard during the COVID-19 pandemic, she caught COVID herself and struggled to self-isolate.

Annual house price growth has slowed for first time in six months, according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index.

The latest Nationwide House Price Index shows:

Annual house price growth slowed to 6.4%, from 7.3% in December;
Prices down 0.3% month-on-month, after taking account of seasonal factors;
Home ownership rises for third year running.

House prices fell month-on-month in January for the first time since June as the post-lockdown surge began to ease, according to Nationwide Building Society.
 

The mutual’s house price index showed the average property was worth £229,748 in January – down slightly from the £230,920 in December, but still up 6.4 per cent from the £215,897 a year ago.

Financial exclusion – the inability to access finance, banking and income – typically affects the oldest and youngest in our society most severely. It is often closely linked to digital exclusion, as consumers without internet access typically pay more for goods and services.

Those who are unable to move their money online are at high risk of future difficulty when it comes to accessing their finances. As the world becomes increasingly cashless, bank branch inaccessibility will be a trend long after the Covid-19 epidemic ends.

CHANGES to how people on West Berkshire’s housing register are allocated properties have been approved.

But more needs to be done to address a shortage of social housing, councillors said.

West Berkshire Council approved changes to its housing allocations policy in December.

The policy sets out how affordable homes rented through housing associations and registered providers are allocated to residents in need through the lettings scheme – Homechoice West Berkshire.

More than 14.1 million people in the UK live with disabilities. According to the Family Resources Survey, one in five people will be affected in some way by disability during their lives.

On a global level, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says that more than a billion people are affected by disabilities. Furthermore, there are 220 million young people, between 15 and 24, with disabilities. Just under 80% of them live in developing countries.