The impact of the cost of living crisis on older ethnic minority people in Greater Manchester

The UK is experiencing the greatest living standards crisis in modern times. But the pressures facing people in the winter of 2022 are not new. They should be understood in the context of austerity and the impact of COVID-19 on the older population, which drastically rationed support of all kinds. While the cost of living crisis is likely to affect the financial security and quality of life of the vast majority of the population, its impact will be felt differently by older generations.

In 2020, MUARG carried out a study on the impact of the challenges facing lower income communities in the context of Covid-19. The research found that Covid-19 had the greatest impact on areas characterised by high levels of deprivation, people living alone, and people from African Caribbean and South Asian Communities.

Following on from this work, the research team have carried out a study exploring the impact of the cost of living crisis on older adults from ethnic minority backgrounds living in Greater Manchester. They have worked in partnership with the Manchester BME Network to understand the lives of older people during this period of unprecedented challenge.

A final report detailing the research findings and recommendations has been co-produced by the research team, The Manchester BME Network and Centre for Ageing Better.

Research questions

• What impact is the cost-of-living crisis having on the everyday lives of older ethnic minority people?
• What types of support are available to different groups of older people? And, what gaps in support are there?
• What new services and additional support for existing groups might be needed given the present crisis?

Principal investigator

• Dr Camilla Lewis

Research team

• Prof Chris Phillipson

Funder

Funding was awarded to the project team from the University of Manchester, School of Environment, Education and Development New Horizons Research & Scholarship Fund and £2500 and MICRA (Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing) Seedcorn award.

Partner organisations

• Greater Manchester BME Network

Publications

• Buffel, T.; Yarker, S.; Phillipson, C.; Lang, L.; Lewis, C.; Doran, P.; Goff, M. (2021) Locked down by inequality: Older people and the COVID-19 pandemic. Urban Studies, 1-18, Special issue: Urban Public Health Emergencies and The Covid-19 Pandemic.
• Buffel, T., Doran, P., Ghoff, M., Lang, L., Lewis, C., Phillipson, C. and Yarker, S. (2020) COVID-19 and inequality: Developing an age-friendly strategy for recovery in low-income communities. Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 21(4), 271-279.
• Lewis, C., Yarker, S., & Phillipson, C. (2025). Living with financial insecurity: Analysing the impact of the cost‐of‐living crisis on older ethnic minority people. Social Policy & Administration, 59(2), 265-279.
• Lewis, C., Phillipson, C., Yarker, S., and Lang, L. (2023). COVID-19, Inequality and Older People: Everyday Life during the Pandemic. Policy Press.
• Lewis, C., Phillipson, C., Lang, L., & Yarker, S. (2023). Precarity and the pandemic: The impact of COVID-19 on single men living alone. The Gerontologist, 63(1), 131-139.

Contact

• Camilla Lewis
  E-mail: Camilla.lewis@manchester.ac.uk