‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Measuring and assessing child poverty at a local level A demonstration of the data available ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Overview of the presentation • The national picture – a summary • Measurement at a local level – NI 116 • Understanding the complete picture – the basket of indicators ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

The national picture – a summary Relative poverty: 2.8 million children, a decrease of 100,000 since 2007/08 Absolute poverty: 1.6 million children, a decrease of 100,000 since 2007/08 Low income and material deprivation: 2.2 million children, no change since 2007/08 ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Source: Households Below Average Income 2008/09 The national picture – Certain groups have a greater risk of relative poverty 22% of all children live in relative poverty 0.2 million 0.3 million 1.1 million 0.4 million 0.2 million 1.1 million 1.1 million *Figures for ethnic groups are three year averages ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Number and proportion of children in this family type who live in relative poverty % of all children in this family type who live in relative poverty Couples Lone Parents 800,000 (29%) 54% 400,000 (16%) Out of work 64% 1,300,000 (46%) 200,000 (9%) 16% 14% In work The national picture – Comparing out of work and in-work relative poverty Source: Households Below Average Income 2008/09 *Figures may not sum due to rounding • Children in out of work families are more likely to be in relative poverty than those where at least one parent is in work. • About half of children in relative poverty are in families where at least one parent works. ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Measurement at a local level – NI116 • How is NI 116 now defined and what does the headline indicator tell us? • What other breakdowns are available? • What are the limitations of NI 116? • When will the next update be published? ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Definition for NI 116 • Revised indicator (Current NI 116) • Proportion of children living in families in receipt of out of work (means-tested) benefits or in receipt of tax credits where their reported income is less than 60% of median income. • Means-tested out of work benefits include: Income support, Income-Based Jobseekers Allowance • Income is equivalised • http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/child_poverty.htm • Previous indicator • Proportion of children living in families in receipt of out of work benefits. • Out of work benefits include: Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit/Severe Disablement Allowance, Pension Credit • Used in the LAA’s where targets were agreed for reward purposes only. ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

We can use NI 116 to explore the variation between authorities • NI 116 allows us to see the variation that exists between Local Authorities. • The least deprived authorities have NI 116 rates of around 10%. The most deprived have rates of over 40% ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

It can also show variation within authorities • By looking at data at ward or LSOA we can see the variation within authorities. • It shows that even authorities with low levels of deprivation overall can have pockets where deprivation is above the national average ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Variation within the East of England ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Breakdowns of NI 116 that are available • Geographical breakdowns available: GOR, LA (Upper and Lower Tier), Parliamentary Constituency, Ward, LSOA • Additional breakdowns: • Whether claiming tax credits or IS/JSA • Lone parent/ couple family • Number of children • Age of child ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Making links with other data sources when certain breakdowns of NI 116 aren’t available • Wards with a population containing more than 10% of certain minority ethnic groups are more likely to have higher NI 116 rates ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Therefore NI 116 answers some fundamental questions • What is the level of child poverty in my local area? • How does that compare to other areas, where do we fit in nationally? • Is deprivation uniform across the authority or are there pockets of deprivation? ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

But we recognise it’s not a perfect measure • Issues: • Incomplete income information for the IS/JSA claimants, so can’t apply the 60% median income threshold • Tax Credits are assessed on taxable income, which doesn’t include non-taxable benefits administered by local authorities such as Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit • Not everyone takes up the tax credits they are entitled to ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Other sources used to complement NI 116 • Many LAs use IDACI: • this uses same source data as NI 116 • only produced every few years • IDACI 2007 uses 2005 data • Children in families dependent on out of work benefits. • Housing Benefit data ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

When will the indicator be updated? • We expect the August 2008 data to be available by late Summer- dependent on HMRC. • HMRC cannot produce the NI 116 data until they have published the 2008 LSOA Tax Credits finalised awards data. ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Understanding the complete picture – the basket of indicators • Background • What is in the basket? • Exploring the data ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

The basket of indicators - background • Local authorities and their partners have a vital role in delivering the services that will contribute to ending child poverty. • As providers and commissioners of services they also have a major part to play in narrowing the gaps in outcomes between children from low income families and their peers, and breaking inter-generational cycles of deprivation. Through driving regional economic performance and sustainable growth they also create prosperity and employment. ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

What is in the basket of indicators? The child poverty pyramid represents our understanding of the factors that impact on Child Poverty. ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

The basket of indicators - background • The basket of indicators (taken from the current National Indicator Set) takes those indicators which most closely reflect the drivers of child poverty that can be influenced by the local authority and its partners. • By exploring the basket of indicators local authorities will be better able to - Explore the links between other areas of responsibility and child poverty • - Understand the drivers for child poverty in their areas • - Think about how they can drive reductions in child poverty in their areas • - Target and prioritise resources and services ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

What is in the basket of indicators? We consider the indicators under the building block themes ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

What is in the basket of indicators? We consider the indicators under the building block themes In some cases the indicators will cut across two or more of the building blocks ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Exploring the data: simple analysis for one authority ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Exploring the data: delving deeper We see here that the proportion of adults with level 2 qualifications (NI 163) is above average but the employment rate (NI 151) is below average. Is this unusual? ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Exploring the data: delving deeper Given the level of qualifications you might expect employment to be higher. Qualifications are just one driver though, can other links can be made? ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

There are also links between building blocks ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Could also consider comparisons with statistical neighbours or other benchmark groups ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Exploring the data: what else could we look at? • Is the position changing, what does the longer time series tell us? • If there have been changes are they for the better or for the worse? Can anything be identified as driving those changes? Do we know of any changes that have happened since the last measurement point? • Do we see any variation within the local authority? Are all areas moving in the same direction? • How can we use data held locally and local intelligence to supplement some of this analysis? ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Exploring the data: delving deeper, using other data The attainment gap at KS4 is in line with the national average. But LAs can explore this at school level. ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Exploring the data: delving deeper, using other data In this authority the gap is small. The issue for some schools is low attainment more generally ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Exploring the data: linking back to child poverty • When we examine any combination of these factors we should think about how changing them can impact on child poverty. Remember the pyramid, some factors directly impact now, others indirectly in the future ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Exploring the data: linking to other analysis • We can also draw on analysis done for other purposes, for example the Community Health Profiles. • There are links between some of the indicators used here and issues that we would consider to be related to child poverty. ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Exploring the data: summary of approach ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

In summary • We’ve looked at that national picture, what’s happened to child poverty over recent years and how this has varied by some of our key groups. • We then examined NI 116, how we’ve reached the indicator that we’ve got and how we can go beyond the headline results. • And finally we had a look at the basket of indicators, and used them to start to develop ideas for building up a comprehensive local picture. ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

Questions and discussion ‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’

‘Ending child poverty everybody’s business’