Children in poverty: Measurement and targets

Work and Pensions Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 12 Jan 2021 Closed: 2 Feb 2022 Parliament page
This inquiry is looking at children in poverty. This is a complex subject, so the Committee’s work will be in several parts. For the first part of the inquiry, we are interested in finding out: - how child poverty can most accurately be measured and defined - what the impact … Read more
22 Recommendations
15 Conclusions
1 Report
5 Oral sessions
1 Letter
5 Events
Activity timeline 8 events
6 Dec
2021
Report published
22 Sep
2021
Report published
16 Jul
2021
Correspondence
23 Jun
2021
Oral evidence
26 May
2021
Oral evidence
12 May
2021
Oral evidence
14 Apr
2021
Oral evidence
3 Mar
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 5 sessions
23 Jun 2021
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Work and Pensions Committee
Donna Ward · Department for Work and Pensions Elaine Squires · Department for Work and Pensions Will Quince MP · Department for Education
26 May 2021
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Work and Pensions
Anne Longfield Bruce Adamson Ed Humpherson · UK Statistics Authority Mike Brewer · Resolution Foundation Robert Joyce · Institute for Fiscal Studies The Baroness Stroud · Social Metrics Commission
12 May 2021
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Work and Pensions
Charlotte Ramsden · Association of Directors of Children’s Services Gavin Mullin · Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council Peter Tutton · StepChange Sabine Goodwin · Independent Food Aid Network Una Summerson · Contact-for families with disabled children Will Tuckley · London Borough of Tower Hamlets
14 Apr 2021
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Work and Pensions Committee
Charlotte McDonough · Save the Children Professor David Taylor-Robinson · University of Liverpool Professor Paul Bywaters · University of Huddersfield Rebecca Jacques · Children’s Society Sophie Howes · Child Poverty Action Group Yasmin Rehman · Juno Women’s Aid
3 Mar 2021
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Work and Pensions Committee
Dr Jose Manuel Roche · University of Oxford Dr Keetie Roelen · Institute of Development Studies Dr Kitty Stewart · London School of Economics & Political Science Edward Davies · Centre for Social Justice Helen Barnard · The Trussell Trust
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Third Report - Children in poverty: Measurement and targets HC 188 22 Sep 2021 37 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
8 results
Clear
1 Conclusion Acknowledged
Third Report - Children in poverty…
The Office for Statistics Regulation has recently made recommendations for improving income-based poverty statistics.
The Office for Statistics Regulation has recently made recommendations for improving income-based poverty statistics. DWP has said that it is considering its response to these recommendations, working with others in Government.
Government Response
The Cross-Government Income and Earnings Coherence Steering Group will respond to OSR's recommendations, with a workplan published on 14 October, and will continue to liaise with OSR on its delivery.
Department for Work and Pensions
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3 Conclusion Acknowledged
Third Report - Children in poverty…
Poverty is at least partly about a lack of material resources, and most people consider...
Poverty is at least partly about a lack of material resources, and most people consider income to be a core measure of poverty. But definitions of poverty cannot be entirely divorced from the society in which people live. A ‘poverty … Read more
Government Response
The government states it will continue to publish all four statutory measures of children in low income and that analysts are reviewing the statistical validity of the absolute poverty low income line and the relevance of material deprivation goods and services.
Department for Work and Pensions
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4 Conclusion Acknowledged
Third Report - Children in poverty…
We heard compelling evidence describing why a lack of material resources in childhood matters and...
We heard compelling evidence describing why a lack of material resources in childhood matters and the impact it has on child development and their future outcomes. But defining poverty in income terms does not mean that the Government’s response to … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges that tackling child poverty is a cross-government priority, highlighting DWP's role alongside other departments and noting that ONS is leading the development of an interactive tool for income and earnings statistics.
Department for Work and Pensions
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7 Conclusion Acknowledged
Third Report - Children in poverty…
Poverty measurement is important because it involves translating abstract concepts and definitions into very concrete...
Poverty measurement is important because it involves translating abstract concepts and definitions into very concrete expressions of who is poor and who needs extra help. Backed by a legal obligation to do so, the UK Government measures and reports Children … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledged the importance of poverty measurement, confirming it will continue to publish statutory measures, and that analysts are reviewing the statistical validity of poverty lines and material deprivation indicators.
Department for Work and Pensions
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12 Conclusion Acknowledged
Third Report - Children in poverty…
DWP’s key collections of income-related poverty and wider social deprivation statistics are all published separately.
DWP’s key collections of income-related poverty and wider social deprivation statistics are all published separately. The Office for National Statistics also publishes separate statistics on household income. There is no consolidated publication and no clear narrative setting out how the … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges poverty is a cross-government priority and notes that ONS is leading the development of an interactive tool to explore income and earnings statistics, addressing the challenge of separately published data.
Department for Work and Pensions
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28 Conclusion Acknowledged
Third Report - Children in poverty…
DWP and the Office for National Statistics both have survey and statistical research projects on...
DWP and the Office for National Statistics both have survey and statistical research projects on income. There is a risk that these overlap, reducing the quality of the overall data collected and contributing to reduced clarity in Government reporting of … Read more
Government Response
The government states it continually considers ways to improve statistical publications and will continue to liaise with OSR on its ongoing income and earnings coherence work, but does not specifically commit to addressing the identified risk of overlap between DWP and ONS projects.
Department for Work and Pensions
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29 Recommendation Acknowledged
Third Report - Children in poverty…
DWP should work with other UK producers of income statistics to co-ordinate the current suite...
DWP should work with other UK producers of income statistics to co-ordinate the current suite of survey and data analysis to strengthen the breadth and depth of work and improve reporting clarity. DWP should write to us by March 2022 … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledged the importance of improving statistical publications and referred to ongoing work like the GSS income and Earnings Coherence work plan and a cross-government steering group, but did not commit DWP to specific additional steps to integrate surveys or to writing to the Committee by March 2022.
Department for Work and Pensions
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32 Conclusion Acknowledged
Third Report - Children in poverty…
Gaps in the analysis of income poverty for different ethnic groups caused by small survey...
Gaps in the analysis of income poverty for different ethnic groups caused by small survey samples reduces our understanding of poverty and solutions to it. We Children in poverty: Measurement and targets 55 therefore welcome DWP’s recent decision to increase … Read more
Government Response
The government confirms the full Family Resources Survey (FRS) boost begins in April 2022 but states that the precise subgroups covered will depend on data analysis, response rates, and final sample sizes, making it impossible to provide a list by June 2022.
Department for Work and Pensions
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Government Response AI assessment · 37 of 22 classified
Accepted 8
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 8
Deferred 9
Not Addressed 9
Rejected 2
Total 22 recs + 15 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
16 Jul 2021 Correspondence with Minister for Welfare Delivery - follow up on oral evidence on Children in poverty: Measurements and targets
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