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Minimum Essential Budget Standards Healthy Food for All 20 th November 2013

Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice. Minimum Essential Budget Standards Healthy Food for All 20 th November 2013. Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice. The VPSJ was established in 1996 to work for social and economic change tackling poverty and exclusion. F our P artners:

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Minimum Essential Budget Standards Healthy Food for All 20 th November 2013

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  1. Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice Minimum Essential Budget StandardsHealthy Food for All 20th November 2013 www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  2. Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice The VPSJ was established in 1996 to work for social and economic change tackling poverty and exclusion. Four Partners: • The Society of St. Vincent de Paul • The Daughters of Charity • The Sisters of the Holy Faith • The Vincentian Congregation www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  3. Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice • Two main approaches to achieve our goal 1. Active citizenship / voter education programme with communities alienated from the electoral democratic process: ‘Your vote is your voice’ 2. Development of facts and figures on Minimum Essential Budget Standards for household types in Ireland www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  4. Minimum Essential Budget Standards Methodology Some simple questions = focus of this research • What is a basic standard of living? • How much does it cost? • How much income do you need to afford this? www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  5. What is a Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL)? • Derived from negotiated consensus on what households believe is a minimum. • It is a standard of living which meets individual’s/household’s physical, psychological and social needs. www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  6. What is a Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL)? Cont’d Expenditure: • A Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) is calculated by identifying the goods and services required by different household types in order to meet their minimum needs. Income: • A Minimum Income Standard is the income required in order to achieve a minimum essential standard of living. www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  7. What does it Include? • 16 Areas of Expenditure • Goods and services priced in shops and providers identified by Focus Groups www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  8. The Household Types Covered in the Research (Urban & Rural) • Families with children: Two Parent & One Parent households ( 1- 4 children) • Adults of working age, living alone • Pensioner couple households • Pensioners living alone • Cohabiting couple of working age, no children www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  9. EXPENDITURE Establishing the Expenditure • To establish the expenditure 3 focus groups are held for each household type to decide what is needed for a minimum standard of living • Negotiated consensus on goods & services to be included in the baskets (approx 2000 items) • Experts are consulted in order to ensure that the negotiated consensus meets basic criteria e.g. nutritional standards • Focus is on needs, not wants www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  10. Focus Groups • Include People from different socio-economic backgrounds (8 – 12 people per focus group). • Focus Group work preceded by orientation meeting. • 3 different focus groups for each household type: Focus Group 1: Produces an agreed list of items Focus Group 2: Reviews work of 1st group – reach consensus Focus Group 3: Rechecks items in each category Study total costs for each category Reaches final consensus www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  11. Construction of the Food Basket • Consensus on a Minimum Acceptable Standard of Living • Discussion of the Food Pyramid • Maintain Food Diaries • Construction of food menus for each day of the week www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  12. Construction of the Food Basket (Cont’d) • Development of the shopping list • Pricing of the items in shops identified by focus groups • Evaluation of the food basket by Nutrition Experts www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  13. INCOME The Income Needed to Afford Expenditure • The expenditure establishes the benchmark of what household types need. From this the income need of household types can be examined • Social WelfareWhere household types are solely dependent on social welfare, e.g. unemployed and pensioners, the adequacy of the household’s total social welfare income is measured against the household’s expenditure need www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  14. Income (Cont’d) • Employment – National Minimum Wage (NMW)Total household income when earning the NMW is calculated, including tax liability and any social welfare entitlement (e.g. Family Income Supplement). The adequacy of this income is measured against the household’s expenditure need. www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  15. Income (Cont’d) • Minimum Income Standard (MIS)When the National Minimum Wage is inadequate the household’s MIS is calculated. This is the gross income a household needs in order to afford a minimum standard of living. It takes account of the potential tax liability and social welfare entitlements of the household in question. www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  16. Household Expenditure on Food (Urban) Examples of Social Welfare Dependent Households www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  17. Previous Research • 2000 One Long Struggle – A Study of Low Income Households • 2004 Low Cost but Acceptable Budget Standards for Three Households • 2006 Minimum Essential Budgets for Six Households Types (Urban) • 2008 Minimum Essential Budgets for Six Households Types – Changes during the Period 2006-2008 • 2010 Minimum Essential Budgets for Six Rural Households Types • 2012 A Minimum Income Standard for Ireland • 2012 Minimum Income Standard Calculator (www.MISc.ie) • 2012 The Cost of a Child • 2012 Review of Contents of the Expenditure Areas – Baskets www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  18. The Food Basket • The food baskets are examined by a nutritionist. Based on needs, not wants. • The food basket is tailored to each particular household • Food items are priced in stores identified by focus groups, the majority of food is bought in Aldi. Meat is bought in a butcher • ‘Own Brand’ products purchased • Food Categories: • Fruit and Vegetables; Groceries; Meat; Milk & Bread; Other www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  19. Example of Food Items The cost of the item is divided by the number of weeks it is expected to last to ascertain the weekly cost www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  20. Example of a Menu for a Household 2 adults and 2 children aged 10 & 15 www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  21. Household Menu (Cont’d) www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  22. The Cost of a Child • Four distinct child ages in the research: • Infancy; Pre-school; Primary School and Second Level • Figures show the direct cost of a child as part of a household • The cost of a child varies considerably by age www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  23. The Cost of a Child 2013 (Urban) * The direct weekly cost of a child, excluding childcare and entitlement to secondary benefits such as a medical card www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

  24. Further Information • www.budgeting.ie • www.MISc.ie • www.VPSJ.ie www.budgeting.ie & www.MISc.ie

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