News and Blog

A global demographic shift means that an ageing population creates an unprecedent demand for adult social care. We live in an era when, for the first time, the number of older people (60+ years) will exceed younger people1. In the UK this challenge is magnified by the effects of austerity and welfare state capacity. New…

Professor Sally Power shares WISERD Education Multi Cohort Study findings in a BBC Wales Radio interview highlighting the impact of lockdown on young people’s learning. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000t6bz (From minute 37:16)

Cardiff University researcher Dr Catherine Foster (WISERD) said children from disadvantaged backgrounds more likely to have fallen behind while learning from home. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-56423630

Local authorities in Wales have had to make difficult decisions to close or rationalise a wide range of services in response to changes in the incidence of COVID-19. This has had major impacts for those sectors of the community most dependent on various forms of service provision.  Where there have been partial closures involving changes…

New research by WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney, analyses civil society organisations’ perspectives on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in nine former Soviet republics, latterly renamed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Namely, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Over the past…

Within England and Wales, March 21st, 2021 is census day. Taking place every 10 years, the census provides the most accurate estimate of the population and a detailed account about people and the households in which they live. The data is vital to understanding our society and in providing information that is necessary to support the…

On an Wales Online interview, Dr Catherine Foster said life had “changed dramatically” for many young people who suffered from effects such as loneliness and loss of routine. She said: “Although some children have been able to continue going to school at least part of the time, most have lost the organization and structure that…

Dr Sioned Pearce highlights the impact of COVID-19 on youth unemployment. In an interview with BBC Wales, she said the pandemic had “exacerbated issues of uncertainty” for young people with zero hour contracts, part-time work and low-paid jobs.  

Over the past decade successive rounds of bank closures and increasing trends towards the provision of fee charging ATMs have attracted widespread media and political attention. WISERD researcher, Mitchel Langford, an Associate Professor at University of South Wales has published a report on access to banking services as a result of his recent Academic Fellowship…

Cardiff is working to become recognised as a Child Friendly City. This blog looks at how the initiative has been implemented in Finland and how that experience could inform Cardiff city council’s work in this area. The UNICEF initiative was launched in 1996 with the overarching goal to ensure the rights of the child are taken…