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To all interested in poverty measures (with apologies for any cross-posting). I am writing as a member of the project advisory board to draw your attention to a recent report from Demos, "Poverty in Perspective". The report is based on analytical work by NatCen using Understanding Society data and augmented with qualitative research. It presents a new model for analysing low income households. It is not redefining poverty or measuring it in a new way to replace the existing income benchmark. Rather, the report uses a set of 20 indicators to describe 15 distinct types (clusters) of the low-income population. We now have a clear and reliable picture of the lived experiences of different types of low income families with children, working age households without children, and pensioner households. At its launch last week, the report was welcomed by coalition government and opposition speakers, and by representatives of the Third Sector. The report, interactive infographics and supporting material are available on the Demos website:
http://www.demos.co.uk/ The report is also a contribution to the DfE/DWP's current consultation on how best to reflect the reality of child poverty using a multidimensional measure. The most recent child poverty statistics revealed a large reduction in the number of children living below the relative poverty threshold. However, this was largely due to a fall in the median income nationally which pushed the poverty line down; absolute poverty remained unchanged and the children who were 'moved out' of poverty were in fact no better off than before.
As the Demos work shows, a multidimensional measure will allow us to draw together our knowledge of what it means to grow up in child poverty. It should tell us the total number of children growing up in child poverty in the UK, show us the severity of that poverty and show us how poverty affects different groups of children. At the Demos launch, David Laws invited all interested parties to contribute to the DfE/DWP consultation, which is accessible at:
https://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmentalinformation/consultations/a00216896/measuring-child-poverty
I guess I'm also interested in posting this to this discussion group to see how the fields of poverty measurement and national wellbeing measurement fit together? Paul
PAUL ALLIN, CStat, FRSA
Visiting Professor, Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London
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