Social Policy Digest

Abstract

A study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that whilst the income of the poorest tenth of society fell by 18 per cent in real terms between 1979 and 1992 (after housing costs), their expenditure rose by 14 per cent. In a separate report on changes in individuals' incomes over time, the IFS found significant movement in and out of the poorest sections of society between 1991 and 1992. The latest edition ofHouseholds Below Average Incomeshowed that real net income rose by an average of 38 per cent (after housing costs) between 1979 and 1992/93, but fell by 17 per cent for the bottom tenth of the population (24:3/95,1.1). The narrowing of the gap in the north–south divide has halted, but a report on the geography of poverty explores many other divisions between and within areas of the UK. The report of the Commission headed by Lord Dahrendorf called for a new investment strategy and benefits structure, as well as measurement of social and environmental conditions as part of an annual audit of ‘wealth’. Tony Blair, the Labour Party leader, promised a fundamental review of the social security system once in power.