Developing Social Indicators in the UK and EU

1. Developing Social Indicators in the UK and EU Elaine Squires United Kingdom representative - Social Protection Committee’s Indicator Sub-group

2. Overview • Background to social inclusion in the EU • Developing indicators – UK and EU • Using UK indicators and the Laeken set • Lessons to be learned and future indicators

3. Social Inclusion in the EU • Need to make a ‘decisive impact’ on social exclusion by 2010 • Strategy for individual member states but • ‘open method’ of co-ordination allows action to be harmonised across EU • Commonly agreed indicators • National Action Plans • Action Programme

4. The Open method • Based on approach adopted for the European Employment Strategy • Improves national strategy through shared learning • Supports transnational analysis of social exclusion • ‘Joint Inclusion Report’ based on National Action Plans

5. The UK Government’s Strategy • Opportunity for all annual report and devolved poverty reports • UK strategy based on a lifecycle approach • for children, breaking cycles of deprivation • for people of working age, access to work • for older people, security in retirement • for communities, tackling the problems of deprived neighbourhoods • Also based on rigorous analysis • wide range of indicators of social exclusion

6. Developing social indicators

7. What makes a good indicator? • Relevant to the Government’s strategy • Related to the ‘outcomes’ the Government wants to achieve rather than the ‘processes’ • Based on publicly available and statistically robust data • National Statistics guidelines • Unambiguous interpretation

8. EU principles on indicators • Clear normative interpretation • Robust and statistically valid • Responsive to policy but not subject to manipulation • Comparable across member states • Timely and susceptible to revision • Not impose a large burden

9. Developing the Ofa indicators • Range of indicators to capture many different aspects of poverty and social exclusion • Consistency across Government with other indicators • Reviewed annually - indicators added this year on: • Families in temporary accommodation • Care leavers – destinations • Juvenile reconviction rates

10. Laeken indicators • First set of 18 common indicators agreed in 2001: • Low income • Employment • Education • Health • New indicators agreed on in-work poverty and literacy

11. Using indicators

12. Children • Children more at risk of poverty in UK • UK strategy based on • Improving family incomes • support in early years (SureStart) • tackling educational disadvantage • help with transition to adult life • Elimination pledge and related PSA targets

13. Percentage of children living in relative low income (below 60% median income) 40 35 30 25 BHC 20 AHC 15 10 5 0 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 Risk of poverty for age 0-15 Ofa Indicator Source: Households Below Average Income series

14. Percentage of children (0-15 years) below 60 per cent of national median income - 2001 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Italy Spain Ireland Austria France Finland Greece Sweden Belgium Portugal Germany Denmark Netherlands Luxembourg EU15 average United Kingdom Source: European Community Household Panel Risk of poverty for age 0-15 Laeken indicator 1a

15. Policy Transfer - Children • Measuring child poverty • adopting internationally recognised indicator • looking at measure of deprivation (Ireland) • Ambition to be amongst best in EU • Also looking at Scandinavian approach • to parental employment • to childcare

16. Working Age • Removing barriers to work • making work possible • making work pay • making work skilled • Support for those for whom work is not currently an option • Number of PSA targets on employment and worklessness

17. Individuals in jobless households (0-60) Laeken indicator 7, 2002 data Source: Eurostat Labour Force Survey

18. Individuals in jobless households Ofa indicators Source: Labour Force Survey

19. Employment rates for Disadvantaged Groups (GB) 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% All working age Over 50s Ethnic Minority People 10.0% Lone Parents People with disabilities 0.0% 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Employment rates of disadvantaged groups Source: Labour Force Survey Ofa indicator

20. Policy Transfer- Working Age • UK has amongst the most flexible labour markets in the EU • But still need to focus on vulnerable groups, unskilled and poor areas • Can use the NAP process to focus on what works well, eg • France is developing new employment policies • regional policies in Germany

21. New ways of working • EU has no direct control over UK social inclusion strategy • Many UK strategies operate at national level • NAP allows us to work across these boundaries • Active engagement with EU in this area important • allows us to learn from best practice across 25 countries • Benchmarking UK performance • can help to join up action across UK • supports partnership and participatory ways of working

22. Lessons for future • Laeken indicators provide important trans-national comparisons: • Difficult to reach agreement • Need to look at range of indicators to explain positions of MS • Data problems of next few years • Still need a range of national data • can be more up to date • provides more detail • addresses UK priorities • covers existing UK targets

23. Future indicators • EU level work underway looking at: • Pensions • Health care • Housing • UK: • Continue to review and improve indicators with better/new data • Child poverty – material deprivation from 2006