India’s labour force during a pandemic: how we have failed

As the Indian economy is slowly opening up after the COVID-19 lockdown, it seems like a number of states are overriding even the most basic human rights of their workers in the name of labour reforms.These moves have been criticised in a number of national and international spheres, as along with the Constitution of India, they are inconsistent with various international instruments. Under these circumstances, this article provides a comprehensive view of the changes that have been made and why they are inhumane and derogatory towards the worker communities, and suggests possible ways forward to remedy the atrocious situation.

The Early Warning System: how frontline evidence helps us understand the UK’s social security response to COVID-19

This article reports on the Child Poverty Action Group Early Warning System (EWS), a database of case studies representing social security issues reported directly by frontline benefits advice workers and benefit claimants. It outlines what data from the EWS can tell us about how the social security system is functioning and how it has responded during the pandemic. It further details how insights from the EWS can be used by researchers and policymakers seeking to understand the role of social security in supporting families living on a low income and in advocating for short- and longer-term policy change.

Out of area housing by local authorities in England: displacement of vulnerable households in a neoliberal housing crisis

Based on freedom of information responses from English local authorities, the research examines the number of households where a duty to accommodate was accepted that were subsequently housed in other local authority areas. Recognising neoliberal housing policy of increased marketisation and less government intervention, the article identifies market failure, housing unaffordability and welfare reform contributing to households being displaced and social cleansing. Importantly, the research recognises negative housing outcomes beyond the binary of homelessness and the impact on vulnerable households by examining out of area housing, which is currently an under-researched area within housing.

‘Who cares about Valley people?’ Lived experiences of energy vulnerability in the South Wales Valleys

Energy vulnerability is an area of interest to researchers and policymakers alike. In this article we analyse data from a qualitative longitudinal interview study of a deprived ex-mining community in South Wales to explore lived experiences of energy vulnerability in detail. While demonstrating the relevance of caring responsibilities in experiences of energy use and scarcity, we consider the importance of local relationships in helping people to navigate energy vulnerability. We highlight the value of qualitative longitudinal research for informing interventions that are more responsive to people’s experiences of energy vulnerability and changes in circumstances over time.

Thatcher’s ‘Right to Buy’ reform at 40: a policy feedback analysis of UK social housing policies

Focusing on policy feedback, this article examines the influence, four decades after its enactment, of Margaret Thatcher’s 1980 ‘Right to Buy’ (RtB) policy on today’s social housing institutions in the UK. We argue that through interest-group feedback mechanisms, RtB helped expand and reinforce the UK landlord class. Furthermore, we assert that the policy pressures placed on local councils to embody housing within the welfare state contributed to a path-dependent, privatisation feedback mechanism. More generally, an analysis of the UK case is important as it could help us think about housing privatisation in terms of policy feedback and long-term historical legacies.

Impact of COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing policies on small businesses in south-eastern Nigeria: whither the stimulus packages?

This article examines the specific or sub-sectoral effects of COVID-19 lockdown measures on small business units, thus departing from previous studies which only focused on general effects. Based on qualitative and cross-sectional survey methods, the article depicts a cross-sectoral disparity in the patronage level and income stream of customers of small businesses found on the streets of south-eastern Nigeria. The article identifies the gap in the policy interventions meant to cushion the negative impacts of COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing policies on small businesses. Hence, state policy interventions have not had the cushioning impact on small businesses in south-eastern Nigeria. A pro-poor approach towards the review of the policy interventions is highly imperative.

Childcare costs and Universal Credit: awareness, affordability and the challenge of an embedded system

Helping parents meet the cost of childcare is an important policy objective in the UK and there are various financial subsidies available. For low-income working parents, this support is increasingly provided through Universal Credit, the main means-tested benefit for working-age people in the UK. This article draws on qualitative interviews with parents on Universal Credit and explores issues of awareness, affordability, administration and the consequences of embedding childcare costs into a monthly-based means-tested system. The conclusions reflect on the implications for the Universal Credit goals of supporting employment, of simplification of the system, and of increasing personal responsibility.

The ethical dilemmas of foodbanking: an analysis of the More Than Food programme

This article contributes to debates about the ethicality of foodbanks, a pervasive element of the UK welfare support infrastructure. Drawing on qualitative interview data, we use the concepts of ‘food poverty knowledge’ and ‘lay morality’ to analyse the narratives of those running a major Trussell Trust ‘foodbank-plus’ programme and explore inherent moral sentiments therein about how those who are in food poverty are understood. We identify a contradiction between foodbankers’ ‘structural’ understanding of poverty and the implicitly agential assumptions that underpin the programme. We suggest that this represents a precarious ethical position on which to base practice.