Dr Peter Kenway

Director of the New Policy Institute

Peter has been director of the New Policy Institute since its foundation in 1996, leading its work aimed at promoting public awareness and understanding of a wide range of subjects connected with poverty and disadvantage. He has led its work on poverty, notably the annual Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which has become established as the independent document of record on the progress, or otherwise, that has been made on these problems.

As an economist, he has a special interest in taxes (including the council tax) and benefits. He recently contributed a chapter to Changing Directions of the British Welfare State, a survey of the evolving priorities of the British welfare state since its inception. He has produced extensive studies over the years for several trade unions on the impact of benefit changes on union members. He is currently working on a study of social security benefits for working people for JRF. Earlier JRF studies on this subject include ‘Working Age Welfare: who gets it, why, and what it costs’ and ‘Should adult benefit for unemployment now be raised?