This annotated questionnaire gives top level results on a range of items and activities people in Northern Ireland feel are necessities and those thought desirable but not necessary. Items and activities for adults and, separately those for children are covered.
A programming error resulted in higher than expected amounts of missing data which appears to consist mainly of unrecorded Don't Know responses. Rigorous testing found no additional biases and the missing data and don't knows are excluded from the analysis, as is the normal practice with these kind of analyses. See Statistical Briefing Note 2.
This annotated questionnaire gives the top level results for all the questions for Northern Ireland only. It provides an overview of the state of Northern Ireland today and the difficulties people face in trying to make ends meet: for example 43% of households could not afford to pay an unexpected, but necessary, expense of £500.
The 1983 Breadline Britain survey pioneered the use of socially perceived necessities asking which of a list of 33 items the respondents thought were necessary and which all people should be able to afford and should not have to do without. The list was designed to be representative of living standards by covering a cross-section of goods and activities, including heating, household goods, food, clothing, personal possessions and leisure and social activities. The survey then asked people which items they had, which items they did not have because they couldn’t afford them and, to allow for personal choice, which they did not have and did not want. The questionnaire also covers a range of other aspects of living standards and attitudes to poverty. For more information see the overview of Breadline Britain 1983.
The 1990 Breadline Britain questionnaire asks people which of a list of 44 items and actiivities they considered to be necessities for living in Britain in 1990 and which items and activities they had, which items they did not have because they couldn’t afford them and, to allow for personal choice, which they did not have and did not want. The questionnaire also covers a range of other aspects of living standards and attitudes to poverty. For more information see the overview of Breadline Britain 1990.
The PSE 1999 survey provided a comprehensive set of question on deprivation and social exclusion, including a necessities module as to which items and activities respondents had, did not have but did not want and did not have because they could not afford it. The questionnaire developed a wide range of measures aimed at examining levels of participation and exclusion.
The top level results from the PSE UK living standards survey can be found on the annotated PSE UK living standards questionnaire. This provides details on a wide range of topics such as fuel poverty and debt. For example, 6% of households have fallen behind with some or many of their bills and a further 12% have a constant struggle to keep up.
In this questionnaire, respondents are asked to say which of a range of items and activities they feel are necessities and which might be desirable but are not necessary. Items and activities for adults and, separately, those for children are covered. Items and activities covered include housing, household goods, food, clothing, personal goods, insurance and savings, pocket money and social and leisure activities. The results, broken down by social groups, can be found under Explore the Data. An overview of the findings on attitudes to necessities are in What do we think we need? of what constutues minimum standards, the degree of agreement and changes over time. The attached is just the questionnaire; an annotated version of this questionnaire with top level results will be posted shortly.