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The cost of child poverty in 2021
- Author:
- HIRSCH Donald
- Publisher:
- Loughborough University. Centre for Research in Social Policy
- Publication year:
- 2021
- Pagination:
- 8
- Place of publication:
- London
This paper updates an estimate of the cost of child poverty to society, originally carried out in 2008 and subsequently updated in 2013. It gives a broad estimate illustrating the huge magnitude of the economic costs of child poverty that are felt across society and not just by those experiencing poverty. The estimate is based on two underlying observations. First, that children who grow up in poverty suffer effects that mean that as adults they will earn less, pay less tax and are more likely to require public support than the rest of the population. Secondly, public service spending is substantially higher in local areas where child poverty is high, because children growing up in poverty require a range of compensatory measures as a result of the disadvantages they face – ranging from more social services interventions to greater NHS expenditures to tackle ill health. The estimate represents a minimum of what child poverty is likely to cost the country, rather than a speculative figure of what it might cost in a worst-case scenario. The report estimates that child poverty is now costing the country an estimated £38 billion a year, of which nearly £12 billion represents a reduction in the future prosperity of those affected as a result of earning less, nearly £5 billion is the loss to the Treasury in the tax they will pay, £2 billion is the estimate of how much more it will cost to support them during periods of unemployment and £19 billion is the current cost in public expenditure on services addressing the consequences of child poverty. (Edited publisher abstract)
Benefit uprating: a return to human decency?
- Author:
- HIRSCH Donald
- Journal article citation:
- Poverty, 141, Spring 2012, pp.6-9.
- Publisher:
- Child Poverty Action Group
The principles on which benefits have been uprated since 1981 are reviewed and the flaws in the various systems used are highlighed. It is argued that we must stop lowering the absolute living standards of the least well off families in the country, and begin linking benefit uprating to a concept of fairness rather than on what we think the country can afford. The article then looks at current and future uprating. It discusses the long term effects on level of benefits depending on which inflation index is used, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Retail Price Index (RPI) or the Rossi Index.
Through thick and thin: tackling child poverty in hard times
- Author:
- HIRSCH Donald
- Publisher:
- United Nations Children's Fund
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 31p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Two million British children now have no parent in work and the number of children in families required to survive on benefits has increased by 170,000 in the last twelve months. This report finds that child poverty is growing in affluent areas as well as those traditionally less well off, with Berkshire and Surrey experiencing the highest proportionate rises in unemployment. This author warns that the number of children growing up in families without jobs is rising to its highest level for a decade - and consequently, that without substantial investment now, 2.3 million children will be living in poverty in 2010 - more than half a million above the government’s target. Rising unemployment has created a new poverty crisis with an 18% rise in families with both parents out of work. The report urges the government to provide additional financial support for families receiving benefits and tax credits, together with a wider recession recovery package that improves childcare, helps parents work part-time without losing benefits and meets extra school costs.
Fair ageing: the challenge of our lifetime
- Author:
- HIRSCH Donald
- Publisher:
- Housing 21
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 25p.
- Place of publication:
- Beaconsfield
Examining 21st century demographics, this report focuses on key issues such as attitudes, participation, infrastructure and resources, and how they are relevant to an ageing society. Noting that older people make up an ever growing proportion of the population, the author asks why this group often feels ignored, when, other than being unfair, is wasteful, as it prevents an ever larger sector from making a valuable social contribution. In a series of events, run by the Fabian Society in early 2009, several major issues were brought up. Firstly, attitudes towards older people need to change. Secondly, older people need to be mobilised, not just helped, and given a ‘fair crack’ in participating and contributing to society. This includes modifying basic infrastructure in order to allow this. Resource allocation should be better managed to effectively help people at different times in their lives. Finally, the most fundamental point was that a better deal for older people was ultimately in everyone’s best interests – wise resource management in order to enhance people’s opportunities to participate and improve the quality of their lives.
Estimating the cost of child poverty in Scotland - approaches and evidence
- Author:
- HIRSCH Donald
- Publisher:
- Scotland. Scottish Government Social Research
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 26p.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
This paper considers evidence indicating the cost to the public purse of having one in five of Scotland’s million children in poverty. Its central aim is to give an idea how much public money would be saved by improving the economic situation of these children. It also considers how much we are spending on supporting children in poverty, how much more it would cost to lift them out of poverty through the benefits and tax credits system and what alternative means may be available to prevent poverty through early intervention or by helping parents into work.
Chicken and egg: child poverty and educational inequalities
- Author:
- HIRSCH Donald
- Publisher:
- Child Poverty Action Group
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 23p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Child poverty and unequal educational opportunities are inextricably linked. Children’s educational prospects reflect the disadvantages of their families. Those who are poor, whose parents have low qualifications and no or low-status jobs, who live in inadequate housing and in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, are less likely to gain good qualifications themselves at school. This briefing highlights the extent of the poverty gap in education and shows how the "chicken and egg" cycle of deprivation is perpetuated.
The great care divide
- Author:
- HIRSCH Donald
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 7.12.06, 2006, pp.32-33.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
The article considers two studies published this year by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation mapping the availability of informal care and of residential care homes in the UK. The studies identify an uneven supply of care, with deprived groups often better able to provide informal care but with inferior access to care homes. The article argues that a new funding regime should aim to provide greater consistency.
Five costed reforms to long-term care funding
- Author:
- HIRSCH Donald
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 8p.
- Place of publication:
- York
As part of its Policy and Practice Development Programme on Long-term Care, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation asked William Laing of Laing and Buisson to estimate the cost of a range of policy changes. This document gives a summary of these costings and how to interpret them. The data behind these calculations is reproduced in a spreadsheet available alongside this paper. The context of these costings is given in JRF’s Foundations document, Paying for long-term care: moving forward, published in April 2006, which presents the programme conclusions and options for reform. These costings are all illustrative rather than precise calculations of what a particular policy would cost. The main objective is to show the order of magnitude of the cost of various changes, in order to open up discussion of the desirability of these options.
Ending child poverty: moving forward
- Author:
- HIRSCH Donald
- Journal article citation:
- Poverty, 125, Autumn 2006, pp.11-14.
- Publisher:
- Child Poverty Action Group
This article reports on recent research from, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which argues that government plans to end child poverty must include initiatives both to expand work opportunities and to redistribute income if they are to be successful.
Facing the cost of long-term care: towards a sustainable funding system
- Author:
- HIRSCH Donald
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 38p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- York
Over the past decade it has become ever clearer that the UK lacks an adequate, coherent and fair basis for paying for long-term care for older people. As a result, services are already under strain, not all needs are being met, and all are ill-prepared to meet future challenges as the population continues to age. This study brings together evidence and discussions assembled by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. It identifies some key challenges that need addressing in order to start moving towards a fairer, more rational and adequate system of funding It deliberately avoids proposing a radical redesign of the whole system, though there is a case for that. Rather it provides a platform for sensible discussion of how to design improvements in the funding system.