research report

Is a not-for-profit home credit business feasible?

The seizing up of wholesale markets, combined with tightened lending criteria, has created a credit supply crisis among vulnerable borrowers, many of whom rely on home credit. Commercial home credit is long-established, with large numbers of low-income customers. It has many features that are valued by its customers, but the cost is high. This report addresses the essential elements of a not-for-profit service as identified by customers and lenders.

Inspection of safeguarding and looked after children services: Staffordshire County Council

This is the report of an inspection carried out under the Children act 2004. The purpose of the inspection was to evaluate the contribution made by local services towards ensuring children and young people are properly safeguarded and to determine the quality of service provision for looked after children and care leavers.

The overall effectiveness of safeguarding services in Staffordshire was grade 3 (adequate). The effectiveness of services for looked after children and young people is adequate overall but with some good and outstanding features.

Boarding school provision for vulnerable children: pathfinder evaluation

This is an evaluation report of the Boarding Provision for Vulnerable Children Pathfinder announced in the white paper 'Higher standards, better schools for all' (2005). The Pathfinder was intended to explore whether boarding school provision might be used to provide support, stability and improved life chances for a larger number of vulnerable children and young people. Ten local authorities and fifty boarding schools originally signed up to the Pathfinder.

Adult specialist community mental health services: report of the follow-up to the 2005/06 review

Sets out the results of a follow-up review of the 2005/06 national review of NHS adult community mental health services. Fifteen indicators were selected in the follow up review. National findings are presented showing the changes in trusts performance - improvement or deterioration - against each of the 15 indicators. The results are then discussed under three themes: access to appropriate care and treatment; involving people who use services; and recovery and social inclusion.

Mental health, resilience and inequalities

This report aims to demonstrate how poor mental health is a significant cause of wider social and health problems, including: low levels of educational achievement and work productivity; higher levels of physical disease and mortality; violence, relationship breakdown and poor community cohesion. In contrast, good mental health leads to better physical health, healthier lifestyles, improved productivity and educational attainment and lower levels of crime and violence.

The effects of discrimination on families in the fight to end child poverty

This report focuses on the discrimination experienced by families living in poverty in the UK ('povertyism'), examining the barriers preventing them from enjoying equal access to fundamental economic and social rights. Current thinking, in the national and international poverty debate, is that the question of rights, and their absence, is linked to poverty. Povertyism perpetuates a lack of knowledge and understanding about the lives of people experiencing poverty. The resulting policy approach leads to a denial of their basic human rights.