Despite tough times ahead, there is still political consensus around the goal to end child poverty. Based on new projections taking account of the recession, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has updated its assessment of what it will take to meet the government targets to halve child poverty by 2010 and eradicate it by 2020.
Survey assessing what progress has been made in alleviating social problems in the areas of welfare, employment, education, health, crime and community.
Britain’s Poorest Children Revisited focuses on the experience of severe and persistent child poverty in the UK during the period 1994- 2002. The report begins by examining trends in childhood experience of severe and non-severe poverty between 1994 and 2002, with particular reference to changes after 1997, when new policies were introduced to address the problem of child poverty in the UK.
This report examines the extent to which work can contribute to the eradication of child poverty, and identifies a number of issues that necessarily arise if work is seen as the best route out of poverty. The government has repeatedly stated that work is the best route out of poverty. This implies that work is not the only route, but is the preferred or main route in tackling child poverty. This report examines the extent to which there is underemployment among parents and a desire to work among parents who are not currently working.
The Child Poverty Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 11th June 2009 as Bill 112 Session 2008-09. "The Bill would provide a statutory basis to the commitment made by the Government in 1999 to eradicate child poverty by 2020." It "places a duty on the Secretary of State to meet four United Kingdom-wide income poverty targets by the end of the financial year 2020".
Focus on Social Inequalities describes the different experiences of social groups in the UK today in six key areas: education, work, income, living standards, health, and participation. It looks at the 'advantaged' as well as the 'disadvantaged' and explores the relative differences between them. Each overview in the Focus on series combines data from the 2001 Census and other sources to illustrate its topic, and provide links to further information.
Household incomes are dynamic and families can move in and out of poverty over time, with some of them becoming trapped in a cycle. What causes this kind of ‘recurrent’ poverty and how does it relate to unemployment and low pay? How could these cycles be broken? This report summarises the findings of four projects about recurrent poverty and the low-pay/no-pay cycle and examines relevant current UK policy and practice and suggests ways to create longer-lasting routes out of poverty.
Paper reporting on the proceedings of a conference on the impact ten years of devolution has had on the problems of poverty and inequality in Scotland. The report records the views of the main speakers and contains the recommendations coming out of the conference.
This report details the reasons behind the low-pay/no-pay cycle and recurrent poverty among disadvantaged parents. The report uses qualitative interviews and focus groups with parents and practitioners, and survey analysis.
Research on families involved with child protection services in the United Kingdom reveal that many the families all share the common experiences of living on a low income, suffering housing difficulties, and social isolation. The children and families experiencing these factors may often feel that they have few choices available to help them. This learning object explores the complex issues that often surround these children and families.