living and life events

Facing dementia

A booklet for those who are either worried about dementia or who have been diagnosed. It provides reassurance and suggests practical steps to improve or maintain dignity and the quality of life as far as possible.

The living standards of families with children reporting low incomes

The government has high-profile child poverty targets which are assessed using a measure of income, as recorded in the Household Below Average Income series (HBAI).

However, income is an imperfect measure of living standards. Previous analysis suggests that some children in households with low income do not have commensurately low living standards.

This report aims to document the extent to which this is true, focusing on whether children in low-income households have different living standards depending on whether their parents are employed, self-employed, or workless.

Child wellbeing and child poverty: where the UK stands in the European table

Child wellbeing and child poverty:where the UK stands in the European table, is a briefing paper of research by a York University team for the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) published in April 2009. This league table of young people's wellbeing places the United Kingdom 24th out of 29 countries measured across seven areas: health, education, housing, material resources, relationships, risk, and how young people feel about their lives. The data was mostly drawn from 2006 and does not reflect changes as a result of government programmes since that time.

Hand to mouth: the impact of poverty and financial exclusion on adults with multiple needs

People who have a range of needs including homelessness and mental health and substance use problems, and are involved with the criminal justice system, often live at the margins of our society. This research aimed to examine this group’s abilities to access financial services, their financial management skills and the interplay between key life events, mental health and offending.

Individual budget users and carers

The author reports on research which aimed to examine the impact on carers of people receiving individual budgets and the outcomes for carers of this new approach.

While there are many ways in which personal budgets can be provided, one of the main ways is through a direct payment.

This research is the first to examine the impact on carers of people receiving IBs and the outcomes for carers of this new approach.

Ending child poverty: 'Thinking 2020'

In June 2008, the Child Poverty Unit held an event entitled ’Ending Child Poverty: “Thinking 2020”’ at which around 100 stakeholders from across lobby organisations, academic institutions, devolved administrations and local and central Government attended. The event was designed to begin a discussion with stakeholders on the vision for a UK free of child poverty by 2020, and the route by which that could be achieved.

High hopes: Supporting ex-prisoners in their lives after prison

This report presents the findings from an exploratory qualitative study that centres on a key Department for Work and Pensions client group that until now has not been extensively researched in terms of its interaction with benefit and employment services and the labour market. It focuses on a cohort of 40 (male) ex-prisoners who were tracked over a six-month period following their release from prison.