A briefing paper said that action to tackle rural child poverty should begin by focusing on remote rural areas where the outcomes for children were worst, and that long-term funded, small-scale interventions were the best way forward.
Source: Rural Child Poverty, End Child Poverty (020 7843 1913), NCH and Forum for Rural Children and Young People
Links: Briefing (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
The Child Trust Funds Bill was given a second reading. The Bill would provide for a lump-sum payment of 250 to all children born after August 2002, held in a fund and payable when they reached the age of 18. The payment would rise to 500 for children in low-income groups.
Source: Child Trust Funds Bill, HM Treasury, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 15 December 2003, columns 1337-1402, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | HOC research briefing (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
A think-tank report (published prior to the 2003 Pre-Budget Report) said that the government would miss its target to reduce child poverty by a quarter by the end of 2004 unless it found an extra 1 billion to increase the incomes of poor families.
Source: Mike Brewer, What do the Child Poverty Targets Mean for the Child Tax Credit?, Briefing Note 41, Institute for Fiscal Studies (web publication only)
Links: Briefing (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Dec
The government announced, following consultation, that it had decided that a 'tiered' approach was the best way to monitor long-term progress on child poverty. This would involve a set of interrelated indicators (tiers) capturing different aspects of poverty, while respecting the finding of the consultation that income was at the core of people s conception of poverty. The government said that each tier was significant in its own right, and that its objective was to make progress against all indicators. The new measure of child poverty would consist of: absolute low income to measure whether the poorest families were seeing their incomes rise in real terms; relative low income to measure whether the poorest families were keeping pace with the growth of incomes in the economy as a whole; and material deprivation and low income combined to provide a wider measure of people s living standards. Campaigners accused the government of abandoning its target of ending child poverty by 2020, and of substituting the aim of having a poverty rate amongst the best in Europe.
Source: Measuring Child Poverty, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7962 8176) | Press release 18 December 2003, End Child Poverty (020 7843 1913)
Links: Report (pdf) | DWP press release | Preliminary conclusions of consultation (pdf) | Consultation document (pdf) | OPF press release (pdf) | ECP press release
Date: 2003-Dec
A report said that by every measure of poverty used (including housing, worklessness and the unique Families and Children Study index of hardship) ethnic minority children were more likely to live in households prone to hardship and to be marked by disadvantage and persistent low income.
Source: Claire Kober (ed.), Black and Ethnic Minority Children and Poverty, End Child Poverty (020 7843 1913)
Links: Report (pdf) | PSI press release
Date: 2003-Dec
A briefing paper said that tackling poverty in families with a disabled child would have direct benefits for the community and the economy, by reducing the incidence of family breakdown and because parents (and children) would pay back the cost of enhanced family support through tax and pension contributions.
Source: Disabled Children, their Families and Child Poverty, End Child Poverty (020 7843 1913) and Council for Disabled Children
Links: Briefing (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
A trade union report (submitted to the government's child poverty review) argued that the government should adopt a twin-track approach to tackling child poverty - continuing to promote paid work as the best route out of poverty, while also substantially increasing benefits to those people not in employment.
Source: Eliminating Child Poverty: TUC submission, Trades Union Congress (020 7467 1294)
Links: Report
Date: 2003-Dec
A discussion paper contained articles on different aspects of child poverty within black and ethnic minority communities. By every measure of poverty, including housing, worklessness and the Families and Children Study index of hardship, ethnic minority children were more likely to live in households prone to hardship and marked by disadvantage and persistent low income.
Source: Claire Kober (ed.), Black and Ethnic Minority Children and Poverty: Exploring the issues, National Children s Bureau (020 7843 6000) for End Child Poverty
Links: Discussion paper (pdf) | ECP press release
Date: 2003-Dec
The government announced an increase of 3.50 per week in the child element of child tax credit from April 2004 (on an annual basis, by 180 to 1,625 per child), 2.50 per week more than needed to keep pace with expected growth in average earnings. It said the increase would benefit 7.2 million children in 3.7 million families.
Source: Pre-Budget Report: The strength to take the long-term decisions for Britain - Seizing the opportunities of the global recovery, Cm 6042, HM Treasury, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 10 December 2003, columns 1061-1086, TSO
Links: Report (pdf) | Hansard | HMT press release | OPF press release (pdf) | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2003-Dec
A briefing paper said that the government's chances of meeting its targets for reducing child poverty could be hindered by a lack of access to skills, sustainable jobs, affordable and good quality childcare, and uncertainty about the new tax credit system among parents in poverty.
Source: Work and Child Poverty, End Child Poverty (020 7843 1913)
Links: Briefing (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
An article investigated some factors that influenced the relative progress of pupils aged 14-16 attending comprehensive schools from two English local education authorities. It was found that the quality of teaching was better in neighbourhoods of low child poverty. In addition, it was found that child poverty was also related to relative progress over Key Stage 4.
Source: John Bell, 'Beyond the school gates: the influence of school neighbourhood on the relative progress of pupils', Oxford Review of Education, Volume 29 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2003-Dec
A committee of MPs said that child trust funds had the potential to make a significant impact, particularly on people's attitude to saving, and gave less well off families an 'unprecedented chance' to build up a tax-free sum for their children. But it warned that the scheme was most likely to benefit the children of well-off families; and also that the government was committing itself and its successors to significant expenditure, potentially over 4 billion over a period of 18 years. It endorsed the government's hope that the funds would be spent on worthwhile projects, and acknowledged the practical difficulties of devising a scheme to ensure that this was the case.
Source: Child Trust Funds, Second Report (Session 2003-04), HC 86, House of Commons Treasury Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Dec
The Welsh Assembly Government announced an initiative to provide all pupils registered in primary schools in Wales, including those of primary age in special schools, with the opportunity of receiving a free healthy breakfast at school each day during the school week. The school breakfasts would be optional. Their principal focus would be those children who, for whatever reason, did not have this opportunity to have breakfast.
Source: Press release 11 November 2003, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: WAG press release
Date: 2003-Nov
Barnardo's (a children's charity) was criticised for an advertising campaign on child poverty which featured a series of images including one showing a new-born baby with a cockroach crawling out of its mouth. Barnardo's said the public was 'in denial' about the child poverty issue. It also published a report describing the effects of child poverty on a range of outcomes.
Source: The Guardian, 13 November 2003 | Poverty Wrecks Futures, Barnardo s (01268 520224)
Links: Guardian report | Barnardo's press release | Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Nov
The government published a Child Trust Funds Bill. It would provide for a lump-sum payment of 250 to all children born after August 2002, held in a fund and payable when they reached the age of 18. The payment would rise to 500 for children in low-income groups. Family members and others would be able to add payments of their own to the fund.
Source: Child Trust Funds Bill, HM Treasury, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory note | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Nov
A paper summarised discussions at a government seminar on the effects of childhood experiences on life chances and life-course outcomes. It outlined methodological approaches to determining how childhood experiences affected outcomes in adulthood. It said that a central government champion should be appointed to ensure that knowledge on child outcomes was prioritised, assembled and disseminated, gaps in understanding identified, and appropriate new research initiated. A knowledge centre should be established to identify, review and evaluate theoretical and empirical research on the factors influencing child outcomes (including policy interventions) on a continuing basis. Funding should be made available for a review and comparative evaluation of measures of child outcomes and parenting, in order to ensure that the best measures were used where appropriate, in all future studies, particularly those funded by government.
Source: Robert Walker, Determining Children's Life Chances: Methodological challenges and strategies, Working Paper 12, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Working paper (pdf)
Date: 2003-Oct
The government announced details of the proposed 'child trust fund' (expected to be available from September 2005). It confirmed that each child born on or after 1 September 2002 would receive an initial endowment of 250, rising to 500 for the poorest children. The government would make a further payment when children reached 7, the amount to be confirmed at a later date. Family and friends would be able to contribute up to 1,200 a year between them to the fund. It would not be necessary to make a specific claim for the fund - access would be through the child benefit system. The government said the fund was designed to build up a stock of assets for the young person to reinvest or use when they reached 18.
Source: Detailed Proposals for the Child Trust Fund, Inland Revenue (0845 302 1417) and HM Treasury
Links: Report (pdf) | Inland Revenue press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Oct
An article said that providing daycare facilities for poor families might not reduce child poverty, at least in the short term. In a local trial, 23 per cent more women who used a daycare centre were in paid work 18 months later (compared to those in a control group): but they were no more likely to have a weekly income of above 200.
Source: Tami Toroyan et al., 'Effectiveness of out-of-home day care for disadvantaged families: randomised controlled trial', British Medical Journal 18 October 2003
Links: Article | BMJ press release | LSHTM press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Oct
A study gave a detailed analysis of the government s progress on its targets for reducing poverty. Used the same definition of 'relative poverty' as that used by the government (household income below 60 per cent of the median income level in a given year), it found that relative poverty fell between 1996-97 and 2000-01, largely as a result of improvements in employment rates and in the level of some benefits. There was 'considerable progress' with regard to children, but less progress with regard to poverty among other groups.
Source: Holly Sutherland, Tom Sefton and David Piachaud, Poverty in Britain: The impact of government policy since 1997, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report (pdf) | JRF Findings 043 | JRF press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Oct
A paper used data from the British 1970 Cohort Study to investigate the associations between the age of the mother at the birth of the cohort member (1970) and a range of outcomes at birth and ages 5, 10 and 30. The results showed consistent associations through childhood and early adulthood that generally reflected poorer outcomes the younger the mother.
Source: David Pevalin, Outcomes in Childhood and Adulthood by Mother s Age at Birth: Evidence from the 1970 British Cohort Study, Working Paper 2003-31, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex (01206 873087)
Links: Working paper (pdf)
Date: 2003-Oct
The Scottish Executive responded to a report by a committee of MSPs on child poverty. It said the suggestion that the figures for relative child poverty grew in 2000-01 was not statistically robust.
Source: Executive's Response to the Recommendations in the Finance Committee's Report on its Cross-Cutting Expenditure Review of Child Poverty, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Links: Response | MSP report
Date: 2003-Sep
A study investigated how far men were being encouraged to take part in Sure Start local programmes. Staff in a large majority of programmes reported low levels of father involvement in programme activities. But most fathers felt welcomed at services provided by the programmes, and continued to use them when they had seen a positive benefit to themselves or their children.
Source: Nigel Lloyd, Margaret O Brien and Charlie Lewis, Fathers in Sure Start Local Programmes, NESS/SF/004, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Sep
A report highlighted the extent and persistence of child poverty, and the 'clear connection' between the lowest incomes, deprivation and social exclusion. Severely poor children were missing out, not just in financial terms but in terms of fewer opportunities, low expectations and emotional well-being. Children whose parents moved in and out of work were worse off than those whose families stayed on benefits.
Source: Laura Adelman, Sue Middleton and Karl Ashworth, Britain s Poorest Children: Severe and persistent poverty and social exclusion, Save the Children (020 7703 5400)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | SCF press release | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2003-Sep
An interim evaluation report was published on the Sure Start Plus programme (a pilot programme aimed at reducing the risk of long-term social exclusion resulting from teenage pregnancy, through co-ordinated support to pregnant teenagers and teenage parents under 18 years). It said that better communication systems should be established to enable programmes to learn and share from one another, as well as to provide clarity about strategic factors. Some programmes felt that they were reaching their full capacity of clients.
Source: Meg Wiggins, Helen Austerberry, Mikey Rosato, Mary Sawtell and Sandy Oliver, Sure Start Plus National Evaluation: Service Delivery Study - Interim findings, Institute of Education/University of London (020 7612 6050)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Aug
Researchers examined the effects of a rise in income, following a move into work, on the living standards and financial position of low-income families (based on a sample of 37 families drawn from the 2000 and 2001 Families and Children Study). Material improvements were found to benefit children first, with improved quantity and then quality of food and clothing: these were followed by holidays and house improvements. Not all families considered themselves to be financially better off than before. Some experienced a reduction in their discretionary income (income remaining once all key outgoings had been paid) - this was because of new outgoings such as council tax or childcare costs, and the existence of large pre-work debt. Some households took on further new debts to help make ends meet.
Source: Christopher Farrell and William O'Connor, Low Income Families and Household Spending, Research Report 192, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report | Summary (pdf) | DWP press release
Date: 2003-Jul
Researchers examined the characteristics of large families, based on analysis of the 1999-2001 Families and Children Study (which in 1999 and 2000 focused on lone parents and low-income families with children). Large families (defined as those with three or more children) made up 18 per cent of all families. Large families were found to be more likely than small families to have no parent working more than 16 hours per week, and to be represented in the lowest income deciles for equivalised income (both before and after housing costs).
Source: Maxine Willitts and Kirby Swales, Characteristics of Large Families, In-House Report 118, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report (pdf) | DWP press release
Date: 2003-Jul
The first official report was published on the characteristics of Sure Start local programme areas in rounds 1-4, based on the fiscal year 2000-01. Sure Start local programme areas were found to experience some of the worst deprivation in England, with more than double the national averages of low income, unemployment and child poverty. (The first 260 local programmes were rolled out in 4 stages or 'rounds', with each round having approximately 60-70 local programmes.)
Source: Jacqueline Barnes et al., Characteristics of Sure Start Local Programme Areas: Rounds 1 to 4, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jul
A new email discussion list on child poverty was launched at the Social Policy Association annual conference. It is an open list aimed at policy analysts and researchers, academics, policy makers in local, devolved or central government, voluntary sector workers, practitioners and campaigners.
Source: JISCmail webpage, c/o Sharon Wright/University of Stirling (sharon.wright@stir.ac.uk)
Links: JISCmail page
Date: 2003-Jul
A report highlighted the difficulties facing parents on low incomes during the summer holiday period. The loss of free school meals, and the added financial burden of saving up for new school uniform, meant that parents often struggled to make ends meet. For most of these families a holiday remained a distant dream. The report highlighted access to leisure centres and swimming pools as a particular difficulty, with little conscious attempt being made to integrate transport with the facilities available.
Source: Owen Gill and Tracey Wellington, Wish You Were Here, Barnardo s (01268 520224)
Links: Barnardo's press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jul
Two research reports examined families' living standards, work transitions and childcare, based on analysis of the 2001 Families and Children Study. Between 1999 and 2001, growth in incomes for families who remained non-working (or working 0-15 hours per week) was on average half the rate of low/moderate income working families. Far more couples than lone parents had someone in work of 16 hours or more each week (84 per cent compared with 46 per cent).
Source: Sandra Vegeris and Jane Perry, Families and Children 2001: Living Standards and the Children, Research Report 190, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040) | Diana Kasparova, Alan Marsh, Sandra Vegeris, and Jane Perry, Families and Children 2001: Work Transitions and Childcare, Research Report 191, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report 190 | Summary 190 (pdf) | Report 191 | Summary 191 (pdf) | DWP press release | OPF press release (pdf) | Guardian report | PSI press release
Date: 2003-Jul
A briefing paper said that the government's target to end child poverty within a generation would not be met without drastic changes to working conditions for the poorest families. It said that the number of people in low-paid jobs had doubled since 1977 to over 6 million people, a fifth of the workforce.
Source: Work and Child Poverty, Work Foundation (0870 165 6700) and End Child Poverty
Links: Briefing paper (pdf) | Work Foundation press release
Date: 2003-Jul
The schools inspectorate said that new Children s Fund activities had made a good start at preventing poor school attainment for children at risk. It said that children showing early signs of difficulty were now being targeted for 'imaginative' new government initiatives aimed at preventing low school achievement, reducing crime and improving health. (The Children s Fund was established in 2001, in response to a report highlighting the need for improved services to prevent the negative effects of child poverty and reduce the risk of social exclusion. It primarily targets children aged 5-13 with particular needs.)
Source: Children's Fund: First Wave Partnerships, HMI 585, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report (pdf) | OFSTED press release | DfES press release
Date: 2003-Jul
The government announced that the terms of reference for an official review of child poverty (part of the 2003 Spending Review) would be 'to set out the policies necessary to: increase employment opportunities, raising incomes for those who can work; increase support for those who cannot work; improve the effectiveness of public services that tackle material deprivation, for instance housing and homelessness; improve those public services that can contribute most to increasing the future life chances of children in households suffering low income, for example education, and ensure public services and the welfare system work well together when families face crisis points in their lives; and improve services for children and their families living in deprived areas, including targeted programmes'.
Source: Press release 7.7.03, HM Treasury (020 7270 4558)
Links: HMT press release
Date: 2003-Jul
A committee of MSPs highlighted a number of concerns about the way in which the eradication of child poverty was targeted by Scottish Executive funding.
Source: Report on Cross-Cutting Expenditure in Relation to Children in Poverty, 2nd Report 2003, SP Paper 4, Scottish Parliament Finance Committee, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Links: Report | SP press release
Date: 2003-Jun
An article said that efforts to reduce child poverty had been more effective in Britain than in the United States. Although both countries had used welfare reform to lift people out of poverty by getting them into work, the British approach also increased benefits for non-working families: this meant that while child poverty fell by a similar amount in the two countries, it fell much faster in Britain.
Source: Richard Dickens and David Ellwood, Child Poverty in Britain and the United States , Economic Journal, June 2003, Royal Economic Society (0117 983 9770)
Links: RES press release
Date: 2003-Jun
An article said that the number of poor children had fallen, and the living standards of the vast majority of children had risen, since the Labour government took office. But reductions in child poverty had fallen well short of expectations, in part because the government s preferred measure was a relative one. Moreover, children in the poorest households were further from escaping poverty than they were in 1997.
Source: Mike Brewer and Alissa Goodman, What really happened to child poverty in the UK under Labour s first term? , Economic Journal, June 2003, Royal Economic Society (0117 983 9770)
Links: RES press release
Date: 2003-Jun
A Bill was published in Scotland to bring free school meal entitlement in line with changes to the United Kingdom benefits system. The Bill would ensure that the children of families on income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance who moved on to the new child tax credit would continue to be entitled to free school meals. The changes would also extend free school meal entitlement for the first time to children of student parents, and parents or carers with savings over 8,000 but on low income.
Source: Education (School Meals) (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Links: Text of Bill (pdf) | SE press release
Date: 2003-May
The government published preliminary conclusions from its consultation on measuring child poverty. It said there was no consensus on a favoured approach, although there was agreement around underlying principles of long-term measurement. It said further methodological work would cover the appropriate components of a possible tiered approach, which could indicate a gradient of progress; material deprivation, with the aim of developing questions for the Family Resources Survey; how relative income might best be incorporated into a long-term measure; and multi-dimensional indicators. Campaigners expressed concern and disappointment that some options, such as an independent commission and a minimum income standard, had been rejected.
Source: Measuring Child Poverty Consultation: Preliminary conclusions, Department for Work and Pensions, available from Welfare Reform (020 8867 3201) | Press release 14.5.03, Child Poverty Action Group (020 7837 7979)
Links: Report (pdf) | DWP press release | Consultation document (pdf) | CPAG press release
Date: 2003-May
A report set out options for reforming the social fund in order to help eradicate child poverty. The existing system would be replaced with a new set of 'inclusion funds' and 'child development grants', together with an 'opportunity grant' to help parents make the transition from benefits to work.
Source: Marilyn Howard, Lump Sums: Roles for the social fund in ending child poverty, National Council for One Parent Families (020 7428 5400), Family Welfare Association and Child Poverty Action Group
Links: No link
Date: 2003-May
The government said that in 2004 it would examine both the 'welfare reform and public service changes' needed to reach its long-term targets for reducing child poverty.
Source: Budget 2003: Building a Britain of economic strength and social justice - Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report, and Financial Statement and Budget Report, HC 500, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debates 9.4.03, columns 271-372, TSO
Links: Budget report | Technical annex (pdf) | Budget speech | Hansard
Date: 2003-Apr
The government apologised for delays in the payment of the new child tax credit and working tax credit, admitting that around 800,000 families had not received child tax credit payments on time despite claiming it. Opposition parties said the delays underlined the excessive complexity of the new system.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 28.4.03, columns 53-69, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Guardian report 17.4.03 | Guardian report 28.4.03
Date: 2003-Apr
The government launched a new 'child trust fund', providing children born from September 2002 onwards with an endowment at birth. The fund would provide an initial fund for every child of 250, rising to 500 for children from low-income families who also qualified for full child tax credit; allow additional (tax-relieved) contributions to be made by parents, family members and friends, up to an annual limit of 1,000; become accessible when children reach 18 years of age, at which point there would be no restriction on the use of assets; and be delivered through open market competition, with accounts expected to be available by 2005. The government said it would publish further details in summer 2003. It also said that in 2004 it would examine both the 'welfare reform and public service changes' needed to reach its long-term targets for reducing child poverty. Campaigners warned that without further increases in cash support for children the government would miss its first milestone target to reduce child poverty by a quarter by 2004-05.
Source: Budget 2003: Building a Britain of economic strength and social justice - Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report, and Financial Statement and Budget Report, HC 500, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debates 9.4.03, columns 271-372, TSO | Finance Bill 2003, TSO | Press release 9.4.03, Child Poverty Action Group (020 7837 7979)
Links: Budget report | Technical annex (pdf) | Budget speech | Hansard | HMT press release | Finance Bill | NCH press release | CPAG press release | IPPR press release | Barnardo's press release
Date: 2003-Apr
A briefing paper said that, between 2000 01 and 2001 02, 100,000 children were lifted out of poverty (defined as those living in households with income below 60 per cent of the median income after housing costs), bringing the total to 500,000 since the Labour government came to power in 1997. But almost one in three children in Great Britain still lived in poverty.
Source: Mike Brewer, Alissa Goodman and Andrew Shephard, How has Child Poverty Changed since 1998-99? An update, Briefing Note 32, Institute for Fiscal Studies (web publication only)
Links: Briefing note (pdf)
Date: 2003-Mar
Widespread support was found (among those responding to a consultation exercise) for reforms to the 'welfare food scheme', which the government says would give pregnant women, mothers and young children in low-income groups greater access to a healthy diet.
Source: Healthy Start: Results of the consultation exercise, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report (pdf) | DH press release
Date: 2003-Mar
A children's charity reported on the condition of children in Scotland. It highlighted an 'alarming' increase in the number of babies born to drug-using mothers, and an increase in alcohol abuse and obesity among children. Once housing costs were taken into account, 30 per cent of children in Scotland were estimated to be living in poverty in 2000-01.
Source: Factfile Scotland 2003, NCH Scotland (0141 332 4041)
Links: Press release
Date: 2003-Mar
The Welsh Assembly Government responded to the first report of the Children's Commissioner for Wales. It said it shared the view of the Commissioner that levels of child poverty in Wales are unacceptable.
Source: Response of the Welsh Assembly Government to the Annual Report of the Children s Commissioner for Wales 2001-02, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Response (pdf) | Commissioner's report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Mar
A paper explored a life-course account of the pathways to adult social exclusion for children born in 1958. It was found that childhood disadvantage had more powerful legacies for women than for men; that experiences of disadvantage between the ages 16 and 23 related as closely to outcomes at age 33 as at age 23; that the excess legacy of childhood disadvantage for women was mediated through lone motherhood; that unemployment or divorce between ages 23 and 33 promoted disadvantage at age 33; and that the legacies of divorce were more powerful for women.
Source: John Hobcraft, Continuity and Change in Pathways to Young Adult Disadvantage: Results from a British birth cohort, CASEpaper 66, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion/London School of Economics (020 7955 6679)
Links: Paper (pdf) | Abstract
Date: 2003-Feb
A new book reported an international conference at which leading academics discussed comparative studies of child poverty, financial benefit packages for children, and aspects of social security provision for families with children.
Source: Jonathan Bradshaw (ed.), Children and Social Security, Ashgate Publications (01235 827730)
Links: Summary
Date: 2003-Feb
The Welsh Assembly Government said that it will develop a strategy to combat child poverty in Wales, and will set up a child poverty task group (with outside representatives) to take its work forward. The group will review existing information about the root causes of child poverty in Wales, produce a 'workable definition' of child poverty, and conduct an audit of Welsh Assembly Government policies and programmes which impact on child poverty.
Source: Press release 31.1.03, National Assembly for Wales (029 2082 5111)
Links: Press release
Date: 2003-Jan
A think tank published its annual analysis of the tax and spending issues confronting the Chancellor of the Exchequer in advance of the Budget. It estimated that existing tax and benefit reforms will take 800,000 children out of poverty between 2000-01 and 2004-05, but that the general rise in average earnings will put 200,000 back in, leaving the government 200,000 short of its target. It said the target could be achieved by raising the per-child element of the child tax credit by 3 per week (on top of the increase in line with average earnings that has already been promised) at a cost of 1 billion.
Source: Robert Chote, Carl Emmerson and Helen Simpson (eds.), IFS Green Budget 2003, Institute for Fiscal Studies (020 7291 4800)
Links: Report (pdf) | Press release (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jan
The government officially announced that the new child tax credit (payable from April 2003) will be paid to the main carer, usually the mother, instead of being paid through the pay packet to the main earner. The Chancellor of the Exchequer reportedly refused to repeat a previous government statement that it expected 85 per cent of eligible families would take up the new credit. Results of a government survey showed that 67 per cent of people believe that all support for children should be paid to the mother, and only 1 per cent think that it should be paid to the father.
Source: Press release 14.1.03, HM Treasury (020 7270 4558) | The Guardian, 15.1.03
Links: Press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jan
The opposition Conservative Party condemned the low take-up rate for the baby tax credit (part of the children's tax credit), saying that it proved the tax credits system is too complicated.
Source: The Guardian, 2.1.03
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jan