This series provides detailed analyses by members of the PSE UK research team of the findings of the PSE research into public attitudes to necessities and local services from the 2012 Omnibus survey and the findings of the focus groups . The findings were presented at two final conferences and the presentations can be dowloaded here at the PSE UK Final Conference and here at the PSE Scotland Conference.
The views expressed in these working papers are those of the author(s). The papers are published under the Creative Commons licence and you may copy and distribute them as long as the Creative Commons licence is retained and attribution given to the original author(s).
This working paper presents the opinions of the general public as to which items and activities are believed necessary in Northern Ireland today to enjoy a decent standard of living. It is based on an analysis of responses to a module in the Omnibus survey conducted in Northern Ireland in 2011. The responses are explored by key socio-demographic and economic variables to ascertain the extent of agreement among the general public as to their importance. While there are some differences of opinion between different groups in society, in general a very high degree of consensus on the necessities is evident. The survey findings confirm that the items and activities that are essential to achieve an acceptable standard of living in our society today and which all adults should be able to afford and not have to do without are both material and social in nature.