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Our publications
Below are some of our recent publications, to see more please select a specific year.
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
Older publications
Local indicators of child poverty after housing costs, 2022/23
Stone, J. (2024) Local indicators of child poverty after housing costs, 2022/23. London: End Child Poverty.
A Minimum Income Standard for Students
This report presents research, supported by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) with funding from TechnologyOne, looking at the cost of a minimum standard of living for students. It draws on the Minimum Income Standards (MIS) approach to set out what students need to participate in university life. The research identifies minimum needs and the cost of meeting these – for accommodation, in the home, for university, socially and life more broadly. Rent accounts for the largest single area of cost, and over half (59%) of a minimum budget is made up of rent, utility bills, clothes and food within the home. The report outlines a significant shortfall between the MIS budget and student maintenance loans, and shows the level of other resources, such as employment or parental support, required to fill the gap.
Hill, K., Padley, M. and Freeman, J. (2024) A Minimum Income Standard for Students. London: Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI).
The cost of remoteness: reflecting higher living costs in remote rural Scotland when measuring fuel poverty
This latest report is part of Scottish Government funded work in remote rural Scotland to identify what is needed for a minimum, socially acceptable standard of living in these areas. This ongoing research is needed as the Minimum Income Standard income benchmarks are key to the Scottish fuel poverty calculation detailed in the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019. This report updates estimates made for 2021 of specific additional costs that make it more expensive to meet a minimum acceptable living standard in remote rural areas of Scotland. In 2022, minimum budgets were updated based on inflation, on updated costings in remote rural Scotland, and on adjustments to take account of new UK-wide Minimum Income Standard research in urban areas and the new minimum budgets that this produced. The report sets out the impact of inflation, updated costings and new urban UK research on remote rural Scotland minimum budgets. Taken together, these produce new minimum budget uplifts for 2022, showing that costs are between 14% and 27% higher in remote rural Scotland.
Bryan, A., Ellen, J., Hirsch, D. and Padley, M. (2024) The cost of remoteness: Reflecting higher living costs in remote rural Scotland when measuring fuel poverty, 2022 update. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
UK benefit uptake among blind and partially sighted people
This research report, produced for RNIB, looks at the UK benefit uptake among blind and partially sighted people, showing a substantial deficit in the take-up of disability benefits due to multiple barriers, including poor communication and the challenge of getting to face-to-face appointments. Around one in four blind and partially sighted people (83,000) in the UK are not getting disability benefits they are entitled to.
A Minimum Digital Living Standard for Households with Children - Overall Findings Report
This report brings together findings from the three-year UK Minimum Digital Living Standards (MDLS) research funded by the Nuffield Foundation, Nominet and the Welsh Government. The project sets a benchmark for what households with children need to feel included in the digital world around them, based on what parents and young people themselves say is required. It takes a holistic approach highlighting the importance of having adequate devices and internet connection, as well the skills necessary to be confident and safely digitally included. The report provides findings on the development of MDLS and what it contains, survey and mapping data on where households are in relation to MDLS, and interviews and discussions with stakeholder organisations and families on varying needs and the challenges households face in meeting MDLS.
Yates, S., Hill, K., Blackwell, C., Davis, A., Padley, M., Stone, E., Polizzi, G., D’Arcy, J., Harris, R., Sheppard, P., Singleton, A., Ye, Z., Carmi, E. and Garikipati, S. (2024) A Minimum Digital Living Standard for Households with Children: Overall Findings Report. Liverpool: University of Liverpool.
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Using MIS Data