Costs of living impacts in Greater Brighton

Analysis of areas and groups most at risk from rising costs of living

The Greater Brighton Economic Board commissioned the Institute for Employment Studies in November 2022 to conduct rapid research and analysis to explore the impacts of rising costs of living on residents of the Greater Brighton area. The analysis was intended to explore the risks to residents of rising living costs due to high inflation over the last year but also the potential impacts of rising mortgage interest rates. This report presents findings from the analysis.

The research work by IES has comprised three elements:

• Discussions with Council and Economic Board stakeholders – to understand what data and analysis was already in place and could be used to support the work, and to gather insights on costs of living pressures in Greater Brighton. This comprised interviews with Council leads in November and December, alongside discussions with the Greater Brighton Programme Board in November and January.
• Desk based research and analysis – comprising a rapid review of evidence so far on costs of living impacts for different groups; alongside new analysis of secondary data sources looking specifically at benefit receipt (specifically, Universal Credit); wages (from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings); house prices (from Land Registry data); and household characteristics and occupations (from Census 2021). This analysis looks across the seven Council areas as well as at differences between smaller areas within/ between Councils.
• Engagement with business bodies. This element has not (yet) been progressed, so we would suggest engaging key business groups through existing channels over the next month, to test the findings from this paper and understand both any actions that firms are taking and what may help in supporting employers and their workforces.