New report on poverty and social exclusion in the UK

Hello again.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has produced the latest in their series of excellent reports on poverty in the UK. Even compared to recent research in this area, it makes for grim reading. It states that the number of people trapped in low wage jobs are on the increase and 1 in 5 working age adults without children are living in poverty. The reasons for these conclusions are clearly complex, although JRF highlights low wages, higher rents and changes in the welfare system as key.

If you haven't heard me promote the JRF before it's a very good source of evidence-based research specialising in the links between poverty, housing and wages. They produce a vast range of reports which you can access by going here. It's all free and it's all fine to reference.

The latest report is available in full from here, or if you'd prefer the Guardian's summary on what was written then have a look here.

Last post of the year so it's a big one.

There's been a few reports and things I'd like to mention to you before 2013 waves goodbye.

I don't usually stick different things together like this, but I thought one message might be easier on this occasion.

So the first thing is the annual report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) looking at poverty in the UK. If you're a first year this may be your first introduction to the JRF. As a word of explanation they're a charity who conduct excellent research in the areas of housing, ageing, poverty and welfare. The new report is a vast exploration of social exclusion in the UK and you can read (and save) it from here.

The second thing may be of interest for criminology students. There's been a study looking at re-offending rates which the Guardian has reported like this. I think the full thing may be out tomorrow so I'll draw your attention to it in the new year.

OK. One more. An academic called Jock Young died a few weeks back. You may have seen his most famous book on your reading list (The Drug Takers) although he's done many more recent things on criminological theory.

Here is a video of him discussing the concept of moral panic.

I'm now away until January 8th so please don't be offended if you don't hear from me until then. As fabulous as you all are I'm really looking forward to doing nothing more academic than eating cheese for a few weeks. Thank you for all your encouragement this year, I hope your Christmas break is everything you're hoping for.

Al

Major new report on household income published

Any long term readers of this blog will know I'm a big fan of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, an organisation focussing on poverty in the UK and publishing many high quality reports on related topics.

Well they've produced another very interesting piece of work, examining wages and how it relates to standards of living. What the new report does is look at how much money a family of four requires to maintain a Minimum  Income Standard (MIS) and predicts how forthcoming changes to tax credits will put more families under financial strain.

The research method involved talking to 21 focus groups and reveals some very interesting data concerning what are considered 'essentials' to modern life. To take a look at the full-text just click here and follow the links. There was also a debate on the Today Programme this morning and you can listen to the discussion from here.

It's well worth a look and listen.