Leveraging Policy Data and Harmonized Survey Data to Protect Health and Economic Security:...
Child poverty
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14/02/2014
Plans to change child poverty measurement ‘shelved’
Plans by the coalition government to change how child poverty is officially measured have had to be shelved due to deadlock in a row between the Treasury and the Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, according to a report in the Guardian newspaper.
Duncan Smith outlined the plans in a consultation document in November 2012. The document said that although income mattered, a new multi-dimensional approach was needed to tackle the problem of child poverty. It suggested criteria for measuring child poverty that included: living in a workless household; living in a family with problem debt; living in poor housing or a troubled area; living in an unstable family environment; attending a failing school; having parents without the skills they need to get on; or having parents who are in poor health. The coalition government subsequently produced polling evidence that it said showed popular support for the measures.
Category: News stories -
03/02/2014
Benefit cap hits vulnerable children
Families in England with vulnerable children who face homelessness are being forced to move far away because the coalition government's benefits cap means they can no longer pay the rent, according to a report from the Action for Children charity.
For working-age households where no one is in work, benefits have since September 2013 been limited to a total of £500 a week (£350 a week in the case of single people).
Category: Reports -
02/02/2014
Child poverty in Scotland
Child poverty in Scotland fell by 10 percentage points in the 10 years to 2011-12 – about twice the fall in England – according to a new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Further reductions in child poverty, it says, hinge on tackling poverty among workless families, where poverty levels remain very high.
Category: Reports -
21/01/2014
Basic income scheme for children in Europe
A Europe-wide universal child benefit programme could reduce child poverty and the poverty gap throughout Europe, according to a briefing paper produced by UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children. Moreover, it says, significant reductions in child poverty could be achieved without disproportionate cost.
Category: Reports -
15/01/2014
Income poverty – new projections to 2021
Newly updated projections of income poverty among children and working-age adults have been published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The projections cover every year to 2017-18, and 2020-21, taking into account knowledge about tax and benefit policy and current forecasts for the macroeconomy.
Although produced for the Northern Ireland Executive, the projections cover the whole of the UK as well as including detailed figures for England and Wales (combined), Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Category: Reports -
07/01/2014
Free school meals extended in Scotland
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has announced a significant expansion of free school meals and childcare provision. As part of a £114 million package for young people over two years, every child in Scotland in the first three years of primary school will have the option of a free meal in school from January 2015.
Speaking during a parliamentary debate on poverty and the early years, Salmond also announced that free early education provision would be expanded to every child aged two from a workless household in Scotland – around 8,400 children or 15 per cent of all children aged two – by August this year. By August 2015, free early education would be extended further, reaching 15,400 children – 27 per cent of all children aged two – by widening entitlement to families that received certain benefits such as jobseeker’s allowance.
Category: News stories -
13/11/2013
‘Breadwinner’ families worst for child poverty
Families with a traditional ‘breadwinner’ model – where one parent (usually the father) goes out to work while the other stays at home to care for children – are now the largest group of households with children living in poverty, according to research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Category: Reports -
07/11/2013
Children's aspirations to overcome poverty
Children as young as six feel that money is among the most important things needed to fulfil their aspirations in life, according to a survey carried out for the children's rights watchdog for England.
The online survey was developed by Amplify, the Children's Commissioner's advisory group made up of children and young people. It was aimed at helping to identify the effect of living in a low-income household on children's aspirations, and considered both the material items and opportunities they think are important. It gathered over 1,300 responses from children and young people ranging in age from six to 23.Category: Reports -
29/10/2013
Poverty through children's eyes
Over half of all children in the UK who report being in poor households are living in homes that are too cold, and a quarter live in damp or mould-ridden conditions, the Children’s Society charity has revealed.
The findings come from a survey of almost 2,000 children aged 10-17, which provides a snapshot of how children are affected by poverty, as well as their expectations for the future.Category: Reports -
28/10/2013
Scottish Parliament launches child poverty inquiry
Members of the Scottish Parliament have launched an investigation into why 160,000 children in Scotland continue to live in poverty. The investigation is being conducted by the Health and Sport Committee, and the results will feed into a wider examination of health inequalities.
The Committee met with families affected by child poverty on 28 October in Glasgow, and heard first-hand the impact it has on their family life and on their children. The Committee will undertake two further evidence sessions later this year on what more can be done to eradicate child poverty, from children’s organisations and the Scottish Government.Category: News stories
