[holding answer 26 October 2009]: The dataset ‘Children in Families in Receipt of Out-of-work Benefits' is currently used as a proxy to measure child poverty at the local level. This dataset is the basis for indicator 116 in the National Indicator Set, used by local government and its partners. The data were produced between 2004 and 2007 and are available at both local authority and ward level. April 2007 is the latest available. There is a six-month time lag for this dataset.
A revised indicator is currently being developed to measure child poverty at local level and will include children living in low income working families as well as those in workless families. The revised indicator will be the proportion of children living in families in receipt of out-of-work benefits or working families whose income is below 60 per cent. of median income. This will provide information on both in-work and out-of-work poverty in the local area.
The data will also be available at both local authority and ward level. It will be produced annually. Data will shortly be available for 2006 and 2007.
In addition to NI116, the National Indicator Set provides local authorities and their partners with a wide range of data related to child poverty and its underlying causes. Local authorities can use local administrative data to supplement the data that are provided from central Government.
The Child Poverty Unit is working with the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People's Services (C4EO)—a sector led organisation—to develop a tool to help local delivery partners analyse local data relating to child poverty. This tool will be available from the end of the year.
[holding answer 26 October 2009]: In 2007-08, there were 2.9 million children in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of median income when disability living allowance is included as income. Of these, 0.8 million children were in households with one or more disabled adult.
When disability living allowance is excluded as income, there were 2.9 million children in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of median income in 2007-08. Of these, 0.9 million children were in households with one or more disabled adults.
Notes:
1. These statistics are based on households below average income, sourced from the Family Resources survey. The Family Resources survey is available in the Library.
2. Small changes should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response.
3. The reference period for households below average income figures are single financial years.
4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication “Households Below Average Income” (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living.
5. For the households below average income series, incomes have been equivalised using the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) equivalisation factors.
6. Numbers of children have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.
7. No adjustment is made to disposable household income to take into account any additional costs that may be incurred due to an illness or disability, because research shows these vary significantly in level and nature, and there is no general agreement on how to measure these costs.