Estimating the cost of child poverty in Scotland : approaches and evidence

This paper considers evidence indicating the cost to the public purse of having one in five of Scotland’s million children in poverty. Its central aim is to give an idea how much public money would be saved by improving the economic situation of these children. It also considers how much we are spending on supporting children in poverty, how much more it would cost to lift them out of poverty through the benefits and tax credits system and what alternative means may be available to prevent poverty through early intervention or by helping parents into work

The number of households in the UK falling below the Minimum Income Standard continues to rise

However you define poverty, households on the lowest incomes are falling further short of reaching a decent standard of living, writes Donald Hirsch

The ‘living wage’ and low income: Can adequate pay contribute to adequate family living standards?

The success of the contemporary ‘living wage’ movement has been highlighted by the UK government’s decision to increase the statutory minimum wage for over-25s sharply, in the name of improving living standards. This breaks with neoliberal reluctance to intervene in labour markets, yet raises difficult issues centring around whether minimum hourly pay rates are suited to promoting adequate household incomes. At worst, ‘living wages’ could distract from other policies with this objective. This article acknowledges recent critiques of the living wage as an anti-poverty measure, but demonstrates that, in combination with other policies, wage floors can play a crucial role. It shows that low pay and inadequate working incomes overlap substantially. The article argues that governments promising that work will deliver adequate living standards need a clearer narrative in which pay, public transfers/subsidies and sufficient levels of employment combine to deliver minimum acceptable living standards for working families

London weighting and London costs - a fresh approach?

London Weighting has become increasingly detached from additional London costs in recent years. This paper traces the history of London Weighting and uses the Minimum Income Standard as a new basis for setting it for low to middle earners

Priced out of justice? Means testing legal aid and making ends meet

Priced out of justice? Means testing legal aid and making ends mee

The cost of a child in 2014

The cost of bringing up children is a crucial factor affecting family wellbeing and poverty. Many parents find it hard to afford the additional expense that children bring, while often having less disposable income because of caring responsibilities or care costs. In 2014, the UK economy is starting to grow after the longest period of shrinkage and stagnation in recent times. In these difficult years, families have become less able to afford an adequate living standard, as the cost of bringing up a child has risen much faster than earnings, while help from the state to cover these costs has shrunk. Although wages are now forecast to start growing again, in real terms, the uprating of family benefits and tax credits has been capped at a level below inflation. This means that the reduced living standards being experienced by families on low incomes is not only persisting, but could continue to get worse. In 2012, the Child Poverty Action Group and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation supported a study developing a systematic calculation of the cost of a child. This report is the second annual update of that calculation, and also assesses the changing relationship between the cost of a child and the wages and benefits of families on low incomes.This year’s report also considers some of the key drivers pushing up the cost of living for families

The cost of a child in 2013

This report shows parents struggled more than ever to provide a decent standard of living for their families in 2013. This is the second in a series of annual reports on the cost of bringing up a child in the UK. This research is co-funded by Joseph Rowntree Foundation and draws on their Minimum Income Standards project

The cost of a child in 2019

Many families in the UK have found it increasingly difficult to cover the cost of bringing up children in recent years. Costs have risen faster than incomes. Parents are reluctant to see their children go without essentials, yet those on low incomes may face a stark choice between not meeting their children’s needs, making severe material sacrifices themselves or going into debt. Since 2012, a series of calculations supported by the Child Poverty Action Group have systematically monitored the minimum cost of a child. This eighth report in the series updates those calculations. It highlights the growing significance of the benefit cap and the ‘two-child limit’ on means-tested benefits, together with the increasingly complex system for government support with childcare costs