A new measure of poverty for the UK: a summary of the report by the Social Metrics Commission

Publication type

Report

Author

  1. -

Publication date

September 15, 2018

Summary:

While various measures of income inequality and poverty exist, the UK no longer has an official
measure of poverty for children, adults or pensioners.1 This leaves a situation where policymakers
and politicians are less able to track progress and it is more difficult to hold them to account for
effectively tackling the causes of poverty or improving the lives of those in poverty.
The Social Metrics Commission was brought together to develop a new approach to poverty
measurement that both better reflects the nature and experiences of poverty that different families in
the UK have, and can be used to build a consensus around poverty measurement and action in the UK.
The Commission is a rigorously non-partisan organisation. Its membership is drawn from top UK
poverty thinkers from different political and professional backgrounds, alongside data and analytics
experts and those with experience of working with and supporting people living in poverty. This
report summarises the work that the Commission has undertaken over the last two and a half years.

Subjects

Link

https://socialmetricscommission.org.uk/social-metrics-commission-2018-report/


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