Trends in poverty and deprivation in the UK over the last 30 years can be tracked through PSE and predecessor Breadline Britain surveys. These surveys provide an independent assessment of the success or otherwise of government policies to tackle poverty. In particular, they are the only surveys that track people’s attitudes to and possession of necessities (see consensual method). The current research (PSE: UK 2012) also has a wide range of questions on deprivation, services and social exclusion, which are directly comparable with questions in the PSE 1999 and the PSE Northern Ireland 2002/03 and, to a lesser extent, the Breadline Britain 1990 and 1983 surveys.

New Facts and findings series published: 28 March 2013

Facts and Findings looks at the latest PSE UK research results and how this compares with these earlier studies.

These surveys enable us to track changes in:

• people’s attitudes to necessities
• who lacks these necessities
• extent and depth of deprivation
• debt and financial exclusion
• attitudes to and use of local services
• other aspects of living standards such as housing
• indicators of social exclusion
• groups in and vulnerable to poverty.

The PSE website will be providing an overview of these changes during the course of the PSE: UK research project. Trends for the deprivation items covered in the Family Resources Survey can be found in the FRS findings section of this website.