Poverty in data

Deprivation 

Measures of deprivation are usually based on a range of different factors.  

For instance, the Indices of Multiple Deprivation define deprivation across multiple domains. Some measures of deprivation are directly available from the UK Data Service at postcode level.  

Poverty 

There is no official measure of poverty in the UK, although Households Below Average Income data measures “equivalised disposable income that falls below 60% of the national median.” 

To better understand the nature of poverty and support drives to reduce it, the Social Metrics Commission has devised a new approach to measuring poverty.  

The commission’s measure draws on data from Understanding Society, Family Resources Survey (FRS), and Households Below Average Income (HBAI). The commission wanted the approach to be transparent and replicable and so made their code freely available. 

We worked with the Social Metrics Commission to explore their novel measures in a case study, where we explored the impact this measure was already having, including the UK Government committing to producing experimental statistics. We also reviewed definitions of poverty and other approaches to measuring it on our Data Impact blog. 

Donald Hirsch, who has used the English Housing Survey as part of his work with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on the Minimum Income Standard, identified 5 things that official inflation figures don’t tell you about the minimum cost of living (written before the current cost-of-living crisis really hit). 

In the UK, a national minimum wage was introduced in 1999. After campaigning about the level of income needed to cover the cost of living by the Living Wage Foundation (LWF), the national minimum wage rate applying to those 25 and over was rebadged as the National Living Wage (NLW) and upgraded by the UK Government in 2016 (although not to the level the LWF had assessed as necessary). 

The Low Pay Commission commissioned the Institute for Employment to assess the impact of the minimum wage and NLW on employment and hours. This piece of work drew on data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and the longitudinal Labour Force Survey.  

One of the researchers was James Cockett, one of our Data Impact Fellows. James shared with us his experiences of presenting interim findings to the Low Pay Commission as well as introducing the research he and colleagues undertook. You can also read a case study describing the research and its impact in greater detail. 

Other impactful research has used data from the UK Data Service collection to evaluate how the NLW has benefited workers, including Agnes Norris Keiller from the Institute for Fiscal Studies whose research used the Family Resources Survey and Households Below Average Income. The Resolution Foundation used data from the Family Expenditure Survey and New Earnings Survey Panel Data to assess the policy effects of the NLW. 

The Living Wage Foundation also recognises how precarious life can be as part of the ‘gig economy’ and launched ‘Living Hours’ in 2019, an accreditation scheme designed to provide workers with secure hours, predictable shifts and working contracts which reflect actual hours worked. By mid-2022, 100 employers had committed to the scheme.  

Research underpinning this campaign used data from the Labour Force Survey and the Family Resources Survey. More detail about this research and its impact can be found in a post on our Data Impact blog and in a case study. 

Skeena Williamson and Lucinda Allen from the Health Foundation used data from the Family Resources Survey and Households Below Average Income to understand rates of poverty amongst people working in the residential care sector. 

Poverty and deprivation do not just affect individuals, but also families, dependents and households. 

The UK Parliament Work and Pensions Committee recently conducted a multi-part inquiry into children in poverty, looking initially at definitions and measurement of child poverty, its impacts and how the Department for Work and Pensions should work with other parts of government to reduce the numbers of children living in poverty. 

We reviewed the submissions to the inquiry and discovered that many directly referenced data within the UK Data Service collection or referenced research which had used that data. The UK government responded favourably towards a number of recommendations from the inquiry. 

In other research, Helen Norman, Collette Fagan and Mark Elliott used the Millennium Cohort Study to investigate the conditions associated with parental involvement with children. Their findings for policy included a recommendation to reform shared parental leave which was considered by the UK Government. 

Additionally, Melanie Bartley used the National Child Development Study to help understand whether childhood poverty affects respiratory health in mid-life.  

Poverty and deprivation affect different parts of society in different ways and with different intensity. Researchers have been able to use data from the UK Data Service collection to better understand these effects. 

The effects of economic isolation on women’s employment and well-being was an area Lisa Bucker examined, using data from the 2001 Census. 

Steven Jiraj used ethnicity and related data from the 2011 Census to develop understanding of the contemporary patterning of ethnic inequalities. 

Martin Culliney used data from the British Household Panel Survey to understand the rural pay penalty. 

Ceri Hughes and Peter Kenway used the Family Resources Survey to analyse migrants’ experiences of poverty and to compare them with the experiences of UK-born people. 

On our Data Impact blog, Alasdair Rae used quantitative and qualitative data, including the stories of the people affected, to explore the reality of using public transport to access work from poorer areas of the UK. Some useful visualisations give a flavour of how difficult increasing commuting by public transport can be. 

Factors which can play into poverty and deprivation are socioeconomic class and social mobility. 

Daniel Laurison and Sam Friedman undertook research into the ‘class ceiling’ and how privilege can affect career outcomes. Their work, which used the Labour Force Survey, identified a ‘class pay gap’ and identified ways class inequalities are reproduced. Their research offered evidenced ideas for supporting meaningful change. 

Research conducted by one of our first Data Impact Fellows, Marii Paskov, identified challenges surrounding the use of both survey and administrative data in undertaking social mobility research. 

Issues around social mobility start early. Vikki Boliver used data from the National Child Development Study to help understand whether comprehensive schools reduce social mobility. For an even earlier life stage, Laura J Brown and Rebecca Sear also used the Millennium Cohort Study in research to analyse whether socioeconomic status or environmental quality is a stronger predictor of breastfeeding. 

Inequality and lack of inclusion can be factors in poverty and deprivation. 

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission is the statutory body reporting on how well people in Britain can live free from discrimination or abuses of their human rights. Their reports on ‘Is Britain Fairer?’ draw heavily on data in the UK Data Service collection and set the scene for a understanding of the state of Britain, including reporting on work and living standards. 

Andrea Finney and Elaine Kempson assessed financial inclusion in the UK, using data from the Family Resources Survey.  

Our Data Impact blog recently featured a post from Blanca Piera Pi-Sunyer about her use of the  Millennium Cohort Study in her research into perceived income inequality amongst friends and its effect on mental health and interpersonal issues.