Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Not Addressed
Paragraph: 65
The UK can learn from international approaches to poverty measurement, including from those countries and...
Conclusion
The UK can learn from international approaches to poverty measurement, including from those countries and organisations which have developed multidimensional measurement approaches that bring together measures of income poverty and wider social deprivations. Some multidimensional approaches blend measures of income poverty with wider deprivations to produce a single index. There is a danger that a single index mixes measures of income poverty with factors that may be the consequence or cause of income poverty. This could make it hard to see what is driving changes in the measure and could have the unintended effect of reducing transparency overall.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government response provided a general statement about its commitment to tackling poverty, existing reporting mechanisms, and focus on work, but did not address the committee's specific observations regarding international measurement approaches or the dangers of a single poverty index.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
65
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
Tackling poverty, especially child poverty, is a cross-government priority. DWP is one of several producers of statistical publications on social deprivations and poverty. Other departments including DfE, DHSC and the ONS have responsibility in this space as tackling poverty requires cross-government effort. The Government liaises with various organisations and other countries to draw on the latest available evidence. The ONS are leading on the development of an interactive tool where users can explore the complex landscape of income and earnings statistics in one location.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗