This week, Brodie Gillan is joined by Emma Congreve, Hannah Randolph, and Christy McFadyen to reflect on their recent trip to the Social Policy Association Conference 2025, held in York. This year the conference was joint with the East Asian Social Policy Research Network.
The team discusses key themes from the conference, including big-picture issues around employment, child poverty, and the links between housing and health – drawing on research they presented during the event. The episode also touches on broader policy discussions, such as Labour’s first year in government and the ongoing debate around tax reform and a potential wealth tax.
You can find out more about the work we mentioned at: https://fraserofallander.org/
Find out more about the SPA and the conference here: https://social-policy.org.uk/
Timestamps:
(01:55) The Social Policy Association (SPA) and the East Asian Social Policy Research Network (EASP)
(04:15) The Hospitality Sector – Serving the Future Project
(07:30) Learning Disabilities & Employment
(10:30) Child Poverty
(14:40) Housing & Health
(19:10) Labour One Year in Office: Tax Policy & Wealth Taxes?
(24:30) Key Takeaways from the Conference
Authors
Brodie is a Knowledge Exchange Associate at the Fraser of Allander Institute.
Emma Congreve is Principal Knowledge Exchange Fellow and Deputy Director at the Fraser of Allander Institute. Emma's work at the Institute is focussed on policy analysis, covering a wide range of areas of social and economic policy. Emma is an experienced economist and has previously held roles as a senior economist at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and as an economic adviser within the Scottish Government.
Hannah is a Fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute. She specialises in applied social policy analysis with a focus on social security, poverty and inequality, labour supply, and immigration.
Chirsty is a Knowledge Exchange Associate at the Fraser of Allander Institute where she primarily works on projects related to employment and inequality.