ESRC Centre for Population Change and Connecting Generations

📌 Job opportunities - 3 x Research Fellows to work on ESRC-funded Connecting Generations projects at the University of St Andrews:

- Social and spatial mobility within and across generations - investigating patterns and processes of internal migration and social mobility, and the relationships between them.

- Community resilience and social coherence - undertaking analyses of qualitative data and contributing to outputs from the project.

- Reproductive strategies, families and intergenerational change, and
Transitions to adulthood and the buffering effect of intergenerational support - investigating childbearing and homeownership across generations.

Apply by 29 June. More info: https://www.cpc.ac.uk/news/vacancies/

Helping older people stay living at home is something governments want to support, but in reality, many people still don’t get the help they need.

In this British Society of Gerontology Emerging Researchers in Ageing seminar, CPC-CG member Dr Fei Wang (University of Southampton) argues that it’s not just about giving more care, it’s about giving better and more suitable care so people’s needs are fully met. The findings are important to consider as we mark - if we don’t address undermet care needs, we risk:

▫️ Increasing pressure on unpaid carers

▫️ Worsening health and wellbeing outcomes

▫️ Higher long-term costs across health and social care

Fei draws on two recent studies to examine how unmet and under-met home-care needs arise, and what role public financing plays in shaping these outcomes.

Using evidence from England and Ireland, Fei shows how unmet need remained substantial during the Great Recession, with marked differences between the two countries.

Fei then uses data from England to explore a further distinction between unmet need and under-met need, arguing that access to care and adequacy of care should not be treated as the same thing. The findings suggest that publicly financed care may reduce unmet need, but may still leave important needs only partly addressed.

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🌩️ The UK is facing a “perfect storm” in which people are expected to work longer, fund their own future care, and provide unpaid care, all at once.

Coinciding with (8–14 June), which this year focuses on building carer-friendly communities and improving recognition and support for the UK’s 5.8 million unpaid carers, a new CPC-CG Policy Briefing highlights the mounting pressures on carers and the urgent need for policy reform.

Cuts to publicly funded social care and greater expectations of individual responsibility have shifted an increasing burden onto families. At the same time, policies encouraging extended working lives fail to recognise caregiving as a major constraint on employment - according to findings from several recent studies by an ESRC Centre for Population Change and Connecting Generations research team, led by Co-Director Professor Maria Evandrou and Director Professor Jane Falkingham CBE, with Professor Athina Vlachantoni and Dr Min Qin (University of Southampton).

Key findings

▪️ Rising care demands clash with longer working lives

▪️ Widespread lack of financial preparedness for older age

▪️ Women disproportionately affected

▪️ Lone parents face ‘double caring’ pressures

▪️ Growing risks for the economy

▶️ Find out more in the briefing ‘Informal care in an ageing UK: Implications for work, welfare and equality’: https://www.cpc.ac.uk/news/latest_news/?story_id=802

📓 New study by CPC-CG member Professor David Bell finds that deteriorating mental health is particularly prominent among women under the age of 25, and in Scotland, with unemployment, under-employment and an unstable labour market possible contributing factors ⬇️

The UK’s crisis is deepening among young people, and the current labour market could be partly to blame, says a new study from , UCL and University of Glasgow.

Hot on the heels of the Millburn report, the findings raise urgent questions about rates and youth employment.

Stirling labour economist Professor David Bell says: “The rising rates of NEETs cannot be fully understood without looking at young people’s feelings about their mental health. Our findings show that unemployment, under-employment and an unstable labour market are possible contributing factors to the crisis, for all young people. One cannot be addressed without looking at the other.” Full story in comments.

📌 Save the date for our next with Dr Shuang Chen from The London School of Economics and Political Science - LSE. Shuang will explore explanations for the low fertility ideals in urban China, presenting two recent papers examining the puzzle.

Register to join us online - all welcome to attend: https://www.cpc.ac.uk/activities/event_calendar/1009/CPC_CG_Webinar__Shuang_Chen

📑 NEW House of Lords Library briefing considers population ageing in the context of the UK’s low and declining birth rate alongside increasing life expectancy. This has raised concerns about potential effects on the size of the workforce, demand for public services and economic growth - the briefing explores these issues and sets out the government’s response to such concerns.

The report references a recent Economics Observatory article by CPC-CG members Professors Ann Berrington and Hill Kulu on the reasons behind declining birthrates: "[they] identified several reasons contributing to falling birth rates. These included changes in gender roles and preferences, housing constraints, and rising economic and education costs. Reflecting on empirical evidence from the ‘generations and gender’ surveys, they said that 'most people retain a firm desire to have children, but that this desire is not being matched by actual behaviour'."

Read the full report 'Declining birth rates and population ageing: Impact and government response':

Declining birth rates and population ageing: Impact and government response The UK’s low and declining birth rate, alongside increasing life expectancy, is contributing to population ageing. This has raised concerns about potential effects on the size of the workforce, demand for public services and economic growth. This briefing considers these issues and sets out the go...

🗨️ “It may be that in the next few years, as the postponement of births slows down or ceases, and individuals recuperate in their childbearing at later ages, there will be stabilisation and even small increases in the [total fertility rate] for England and Wales."

Yesterday, CPC-CG member Professor Ann Berrington spoke with the Financial Times about the latest Office for National Statistics data on in England and Wales. The data shows that, in 2025, the number of babies born fell to the lowest level in almost half a century and continues the long-term trend of falling births going back over the past decade.

Births in England and Wales fall to lowest level since 1977 Data highlights demographic challenge where the population would barely grow without immigration

Join CPC-CG member Professor Nissa Finney on 3 June as she speaks about how housing inequalities across the UK are shaped by race and racism, drawing on national survey and census data alongside community research ⬇️⬇️

📉 CPC member Dr Bernice Kuang was called on to discuss whether falling birth rates are really something to worry about, for the latest The Rest is Politics newsletter.

Inspired by Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart discussing falling around the world, and a listener's question asking what can be done about the decline, Bernice discussed how falling birth rates should not provoke panic.

Instead, policymakers should use them to devise big picture strategies to help young people have children if and when they want to, alongside creating solutions to care for older generations as they age.

Declining Birth Rates & Lawyers vs Engineers Issy here. What a week. Today, we’re asking whether falling birth rates are really something to worry about - and we have a piece from esteemed Stanford academic Dan Wang on how lawyers and engineers are running the world… in very different ways.

📝 The UK government's Pensions Commission interim report - it's encouraging to see CPC-CG research referenced and acknowledged in the report, which sets out the challenges that the UK's pensions system is facing to 2050.

It has been 20 years since the UK carried out a review of its system. Since then, changes have created new challenges for pensions, such as people living longer, declining birth rates, and the changing landscape of work and living arrangements.

One major issue is around the growing care needs of an population, and how this interacts with longer working lives and the financial preparations people make for older age. While the demand for informal caregiving is increasing, many individuals remain unprepared for their future long-term care needs, and policies aimed at promoting workforce participation are clashing with the realities of caregiving responsibilities.

In particular, the report cites research led by CPC-CG Co-Director Professor Maria Evandrou and CPC-CG Director Professor Jane Falkingham, with Dr Min Qin and Professor Athina Vlachantoni, which shows that policies encouraging older adults to remain in employment, such as the UK's '50 PLUS Choices', are in direct conflict with the rising reliance on informal to provide social care.

Using Understanding Society data, the study team has found that informal caregiving responsibilities significantly reduce employment participation, particularly for those providing intensive care (20+ hours per week). Older working carers face an increasing struggle to balance employment and care responsibilities, particularly as cuts to public funding for adult social care continue to shift the burden onto families.

Links in comments to more information ⬇️ ⬇️