poverty

Helping families thrive: lessons learned from the child poverty pilot programme

Guide that looks at ways of supporting families away from the causes and consequences of disadvantage and poverty. It suggests how local authorities and their partners, including the voluntary and community sectors, can work together effectively to achieve better
outcomes for families. It should inform existing provision, new initiatives and commissioning strategies.

Persistent poverty and children's cognitive development: evidence from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

Paper that investigates the impact of persistent poverty on the cognitive development of children in the very early years of their lives. It uses the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), which is a sample of 19,000 children born in UK around the turn of the century.

The report traces the children's cognitive development as measured in a series of standard tests up until they are 7 years old. Its focus is on the impact of living in poverty on this cognitive development.

Ending child poverty: the importance of income in measuring and tackling child poverty

Report that sets out Save the Children’s view of why income must remain a key part of measuring and tackling child poverty. This is based on their longstanding belief that low income is central to the experience of poverty.

The report also looks at the progress that has been made in reducing child poverty to date and argues that efforts to suggest the 2020 targets cannot be met are premature. It concludes that income based measures of poverty, including the internationally recognised relative income measure, must remain central to anti-poverty approaches.

Poverty and inequality in 2020: impact of changes in the structure of employment

Report concerned with the impact of future changes in employment structures and pay patterns on income inequality and poverty.

The report findings suggest that:
• relative poverty and inequality are set to rise by 2020 as a result of changes to the structure of employment and future changes in the tax and benefit system
• absolute poverty is likely to be aff ected very little by those changes
• to mitigate increases in poverty and inequality, a very precise and targeted approach to policy, focusing on households in poverty, will be required.

Oxfam humankind index: the new measure of Scotland's prosperity

The goal of the Oxfam Humankind Index for Scotland is to assess Scotland’s prosperity through a holistic and more representative measure of progress, beyond the dominant economic model which relies on Gross Domestic Product as the main indicator. The Oxfam Humankind Index measures the real wealth of Scotland – what really matters to the people of Scotland.

Monitoring poverty and social exclusion in Northern Ireland 2012

Report that looks at what has changed in the two-and-a-half years since the last report in 2009. It examines low income, work, benefits and education. What emerges is a complex picture. There has been continued long-term improvement in some areas and persistent problems in others.

There are variations both between and within geographical areas and population groups. In all of this, there is the sense that while the position is no worse than three years ago,it is also no better, and Northern Ireland is now faced by the uncertainties of public sector cuts and welfare reform.