How can we measure poverty in the United Kingdom today, and which measures are most reliable? Is poverty related to other problems and disadvantages? Based on the largest research study on UK poverty ever commissioned, these fascinating volumes answer these questions and more, providing the most authoritative and up-to-date picture ever assembled of poverty throughout the four countries of the United Kingdom. Using state-of-the-art measurement methods, Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK looks across geography, time, and key domains like health, employment, and housing to make enlightening--and sometimes shocking--comparisons. In the second volume, contributors consider different aspects of disadvantage, from access to local services, the world of work, the quality of housing and neighborhoods, and physical and mental health. They also look at wider aspects of social and community life, as well as participation in civic and political activities.

Reviews the literature on income poverty, deprivation and social exclusion among the largest ethno-religious groups during the years 2001-2005. Considers employment outcomes, family structure and kinship, and eligibility and take-up of social security benefits.

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. 50 years after the establishment of the Runnymede Trust and the Race Relations Act of 1968 which sought to end discrimination in public life, this accessible book provides commentary by some of the UK’s foremost scholars of race and ethnicity on data relating to a wide range of sectors of society, including employment, health, education, criminal justice, housing and representation in the arts and media. It explores what progress has been made, identifies those areas where inequalities remain stubbornly resistant to change, and asks how our thinking around race and ethnicity has changed in an era of Islamophobia, Brexit and an increasingly diverse population.

In 1999, one in four British children lived in poverty—the third highest child poverty rate among industrialized countries. Five years later, the child poverty rate in Britain had fallen by more than half in absolute terms. How did the British government accomplish this and what can the United States learn from the British experience? Jane Waldfogel offers a sharp analysis of the New Labour government's anti-poverty agenda, its dramatic early success and eventual stalled progress. Comparing Britain's anti-poverty initiative to U.S. welfare reform, the book shows how the policies of both countries have affected child poverty, living standards, and well-being in low-income families and suggests next steps for future reforms. Britain's War on Poverty evaluates the three-pronged anti-poverty strategy employed by the British government and what these efforts accomplished. British reforms sought to promote work and make work pay, to increase financial support for families with children, and to invest in the health, early-life development, and education of children. The latter two features set the British reforms apart from the work-oriented U.S. welfare reforms, which did not specifically target income or program supports for children. Plagued by premature initiatives and what some experts called an overly ambitious agenda, the British reforms fell short of their intended goal but nevertheless significantly increased single-parent employment, raised incomes for low-income families, and improved child outcomes. Poverty has fallen, and the pattern of low-income family expenditures on child enrichment and healthy food has begun to converge with higher-income families. As Waldfogel sees it, further success in reducing child poverty in Britain will rely on understanding who is poor and who is at highest risk. More than half of poor children live in families where at least one parent is working, followed by unemployed single- and two-parent homes, respectively. Poverty rates are also notably higher for children with disabled parents, large families, and for Pakistani and Bangladeshi children. Based on these demographics, Waldfogel argues that future reforms must, among other goals, raise working-family incomes, provide more work for single parents, and better engage high-risk racial and ethnic minority groups. What can the United States learn from the British example? Britain's War on Poverty is a primer in the triumphs and pitfalls of protracted policy. Notable differences distinguish the British and U.S. models, but Waldfogel asserts that a future U.S. poverty agenda must specifically address child poverty and the income inequality that helps create it. By any measurement and despite obstacles, Britain has significantly reduced child poverty. The book's key lesson is that it can be done.

Includes statistical tables and graphs.

As the issues of inequality and ethnic identity become ever more prominent in politics and media, this book is well timed to play a useful role: offering in-depth analysis of the intersection of the two issues by experts in the field. Drawn from the last three UK population censuses, it not only offers a comprehensive overview of the topic, but also clarifies key concepts. Contributors highlight persistent inequalities in access to housing, employment, education, and good health faced by some ethnic groups, and the resulting book will be a crucial resource for policy makers and researchers alike.

In recent years there has been significant negative attention towards young British male Muslims, who are perceived to be increasingly dangerous and criminal. However, very little is known about those who offend, as few studies have attempted to understand their lived experience. After spending four years with a group of young British Pakistani Muslim men who were involved in a range of offending behaviours, Qasim gained unique first-hand insight into their multifaceted lives. In this book he unwraps their lives, taking into account their socio-economic situation, the make-up of their community, cultural and religious influences which impacted on them and their involvement in crime. He explores their identities and explains what role, if any, religion and Pakistani culture play in their criminal behaviour. With a focus on the apparent link with gun crime and drug dealing, this important book exposes the complex nature of the young men’s pathways into crime.