Improving lives? Child poverty and social exclusion
This chapter details findings on child poverty and social exclusion from the 2012 UK Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey (PSE2012).It details the turbulent policy context in relation to child poverty in the years between the PSE1999 and PSE2012.It details the stability in perceptions of child necessities over time, and adult perspectives on children’s needs in 2012.The use of adult respondents in research on child poverty, and the implications of this in relation to how data can be interpreted, are detailed – and we recommend the inclusion of children in future similar studies.Findings indicate disturbingly high levels of child poverty in the UK, within a policy context which is likely to exacerbate this even further.Contrary to policy and popular rhetoric, we find no support for the idea that parental behaviours rather than ‘genuine’ poverty are the cause of children going without.Rather, parents are making substantial and personally detrimental sacrifices to ensure that their children are provided for.