Katy Jones is a Research Fellow in the Centre for Decent Work and Productivity at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has previously held research positions at The Work Foundation (part of Lancaster University) and the University of Salford. She has published widely on topics including youth unemployment, homelessness, welfare conditionality and skills.

Ashwin Kumar is Professor of Social Policy at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has previously worked as Chief Economist at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Senior Economic Advisor at the Department for Work and Pensions and as an economic advisor to Gordon Brown.