Peter Matejic
@StatsPeter
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Chief Analyst, Insights and Analysis, at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation working to solve UK Poverty
Sheffield / York
Joined February 2020
This is a good explainer (with the webpage) of RHDI. See https://t.co/FcBjvOPMqw for why we think it is only a partial picture of living standards.
jrf.org.uk
We explain why our approach to income forecasts is more comprehensive and will more closely reflect the actual experience of households’ living standards.
Real household disposable income (RHDI) is a measure of the real purchasing power of households over time. Watch our video, and read our article, to find out more about RHDI and why it matters ⬇️ ➡️ https://t.co/6KoWUhAVKf
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This is going to be a very exciting post - do apply if you have the skills and enthusiasm!
📊 We're hiring a Senior Quantitative Manager! Can you turn data into creative, high-quality analysis and visualisation? Experienced with applied quantitative methods and using national survey datasets? Then we'd love to hear from you. Apply now:
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Excellent photo and great message. #StopTheStigma in social security!
Great to be at powerful @turn2us_org report launch in Parliament today, alongside @jrf_uk colleagues! Our social security system should be there for all of us when we need support, and treat people with compassion, dignity and respect #StopTheStigma
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If over 40 eminent economists, academics and policy expects back a call to scrap the two-child limit, you know there is an extremely good reason to do so. See https://t.co/btmXl7pn48 for @jrf_uk 's analysis backing this up even further.
jrf.org.uk
Adding a protected minimum floor to Universal Credit and removing the two-child limit will reverse declining living standards for families with children and get child poverty falling.
It's not just us that wants you to scrap the two-child limit to benefits @RachelReevesMP, over 40 economists, academics, and policy experts back us too. The two-child limit generates savings of around £3.6 billion per year, but it's the largest driver of rising child poverty in
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Spoke to @theleaduk about how child poverty rates are stratified along racial lines and what govt can do about it. 24% of white children are in poverty, whereas rates are much higher for Bangladeshi (67%), Pakistani (61%), & Black African (49%) children. https://t.co/UbuExfM8eN
national.thelead.uk
Policies to tackle child poverty that don’t acknowledge the impact of race are simply not going to cut it.
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A principle should be that benefit levels relate to the cost of what it is contributing towards. Multiple freezes to LHA means renters in need of support are hostages to rent inflation in their area, and as @J_Elliott94 shows, rates across the piece are hopefully out of kilter.
Rents have increased by a fifth in recent years since Local Housing Housing allowance was frozen, up £210 a month!! The strain of this freeze on private renters is immense; in April around 40% of private renters in receipt of LHA said they didn't have enough to cover rent.
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📊 Latest inflation figures published this morning show that CPI inflation sat at 3.8% for September. Why does this month's figure matter more? The government will use it to inform how much to uprate benefits by from April 2026. 🔽
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 3.8% in the 12 months to September 2025, unchanged from August 2025. The September, August and July 2025 figures were the joint-highest recorded since January 2024, when the rate was 4.0%. Read the article ➡️ https://t.co/MkZBeF7kCc
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We need an independent process to advise on a standard allowance rate that reflects what people need to afford the essentials, and for rates to quickly move towards that level.
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The annual gap still likely to be more than £1,000 for singles and £2,500 for couples. Look at how little next year’s increase moves rates towards a level that enables people to afford the essentials.
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This means the standard allowance is set to rise from £92 to £98 per week for singles and from £145 to £154 per week for couples. However it will remain below the level needed to afford a basic basket of essentials.
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We learnt today that annual CPI inflation was 3.8% in September 2025. The Universal Credit Act 2025 increases the rate of the standard allowance in Universal Credit by 2.3% after applying this inflation, meaning an increase of around 6.2% in April 2026.
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We are still at near zero real earnings growth since Sept 2024, 11th month in row. We had a very small rise in earnings in August 2025 on previous month, leaving earnings up just 0.2% on Sept 2024.
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Calling housing academics, researchers and economists - we've put out a tender for research on private landlord profits; how substantial are they, how are they distributed, from rent vs. capital etc. Apply at the link below! Budget up to £40k including vat. Please reshare!!
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It's time for politicians to focus on what matters to people like tackling poverty 📢 Everyone deserves an affordable home, work that gives enough to get by on, and enough money to pay the bills Politicians can make the right decisions today to build a better future for us all
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Around 1 in 4 children in Scotland are living in poverty. Poverty remains far too high, and people are feeling overlooked and ignored by politicians. The next Scottish Parliament is an opportunity to build a better future for all children in Scotland. 🔽 1/4
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Just to add, following a question about whether it is inflation or wage restraint driving the stagnation, answer is a bit of both, but higher inflation is the biggest driver, with similar (if lower) nominal wage growth this year compared to last year.
Near zero real earnings growth since Sept, 10th month in row. We had a very small fall in earnings in July 2025 on previous month, leaving earnings up just 0.1% on Sept 2024.
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We're on track for a decade of decline in families’ disposables incomes by the end of the parliament. But this is not inevitable. The gov can introduce targeted policies like investing in social security, and interventions in key areas like housing and energy. Listen on @LBC 🔽
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On 6 Oct, we'll launch our Poverty in Scotland report ⚙️ Building a Scotland where all children have the chance to flourish is an investment both in our children and our futures Join us for the latest data and our hopes for the next Scottish Parliament: https://t.co/SeXalL3OS9
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Over 100,000 families (mostly with children) losing over £50 a week *on average* from already inadequate benefit income, with 1,000s losing much more - see this great if depressing thread on the latest data from @IainKPorter.
New DWP data today shows 123,000 families – including 103,000 (over 4 in 5) with children – had their Universal Credit reduced by the benefit cap in May 2025 This eats into UC’s already inadequate basic rate, pulling it further below what’s needed to afford life's essentials 1/6
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It is party conference season and JRF will be there 🎤 We'll be hosting panels on living standards, affording the essentials, tackling the housing crisis, and more! Find out what we're up to: https://t.co/345yz210Zd.
jrf.org.uk
Our events bring together influential and pioneering voices to speed up the move towards a future without poverty, where both people and planet can flourish.
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