UK Poverty 2025 launch webinar
Our event to launch the latest findings of JRF’s flagship annual report, UK Poverty.
What is the UK Poverty report?
Every year our flagship UK Poverty report offers a comprehensive analysis of poverty in the UK. The report draws on a range of data to identify who is most affected, how poverty levels have changed over time, and what lies ahead. The report provides an in-depth look at overall poverty rates, deep poverty and persistent poverty, and how these vary between different groups across the UK (including family type, ethnicity, disability, housing, work and benefit receipt.)
Highlighting the human impact, the report also examines the lived experiences of those in poverty, focussing on their cost of living, levels of savings and debt, food insecurity, health, and education.
More about this event
As the first UK Poverty report of the new Labour Government, it emphasises the scale of the challenge ahead in addressing the critical issues. This event was an opportunity to explore how our social security system, alongside affordable housing and access to good jobs, can play a pivotal role in reducing poverty.
During this webinar, we:
- heard from leading experts on the UK Poverty 2025 findings
- explored the challenges and opportunities these findings present
- engaged in a Q&A session.
Chair and speakers
Frank leads JRF’s public engagement, advocacy, and campaigning work. Frank is also responsible for providing all parts of the JRF and JRHT group with high quality communications support through its media, marketing, digital, strategic communications, public affairs, and events teams. Prior to his appointment, Frank held a series of campaigning, policy and influencing roles at JRF, the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, The Nuffield Trust, The Royal College of Physicians, and Alcohol Concern. He holds degrees in philosophy, public policy and management.
Before joining JRF, Peter worked for almost 20 years in the Civil Service. He led on a number of issues at the Department of Work and Pensions, including poverty analysis and policies, and developing measures for persistent poverty and child poverty. Before that, he worked on fuel poverty and energy price analysis. Peter is interested in all elements of poverty measurement and is passionate about making sure analysis has impact. He oversees JRF's monitoring strategy and research reports.
Karen is an anti-poverty campaigner with lived experience. She is a member of JRF’s Grassroots Poverty Action Group (GPAG) and has supported JRF's work since 2021 contributing to previous UK Poverty reports, our cost-of-living tracker and many more projects.. This diverse group represents those most at risk of poverty and includes members who are also actively engaged in anti-poverty efforts at both local and national levels. They generously share their time and expertise to enhance JRF’s work and their valuable insights bring fresh perspectives to a wide range of activities, including research projects, policy development, public engagement, and campaigning. She is also part of the Poverty Truth Community.
Ruth is professor at Social Policy at the University of York. Her research employs participatory and qualitative approaches to better understand experiences of social security and poverty, and the impact of recent policy changes. Most recently, she has led the Covid Realities research programme, and now leads it successor - Changing Realities, which works with over 100 parents and carers on a low-income to document everyday life and push for change. She has also recently undertaken research on the impact of the benefit cap and the two-child limit; and has an interest in better understanding the fast-changing relationship between devolution and social security within the UK.
Ryan is the Founder and Executive Chair of Bright Blue. He was Chief Executive from 2014-2023. Under his leadership, Bright Blue has grown significantly in size, reputation and impact. The organisation was shortlisted for the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 UK social policy think tank of the year and UK environment and energy think tank of the year in the prestigious annual Prospect Magazine awards.
Ryan was appointed a Commissioner of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). He is also a Senior Visiting Fellow at King’s College London and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Bath. He is also Deputy Chair of the What Works Centre, Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education (TASO). He sits on the advisory council of the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research and was previously on the advisory council of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and Shelter’s Big Conversation on Social Housing. He is a mentor for the Social Mobility Foundation and was governor of a new secondary school in East London from 2017-2023.
Who is this event for?
This event is aimed at anyone passionate about tackling poverty, including:
- advocates for social change
- policymakers
- social and economic researchers and academics
- community leaders.
This event is part of the social security topic.
Find out more about our work in this area.