Publisher's Synopsis
The aims of this report are to: introduce readers to a method of calculating household needs and costs called budget standards, which is widely known in North America, Australia, The Netherlands and Scandinavia, but virtually unheard of in the UK; stimulate debate about the incomes necessary to avoid poverty. · Using a modified form of budget standards methodology, the study estimates the needs and living costs of two-parent and lone-parent families, each with a boy aged 10 years and a girl aged 4 years, at a Low-Cost but Acceptable living standard. Estimates like these could help governments to prevent poverty and hardship. This report contains essential information for those working in business and finance (eg, money advisors and banks and building societies), the legal profession and the courts, central and local government, the NHS, dietitians, caterers, the voluntary sector, educationalists and those involved in social policy. It should also attract an international audience of people working in similar fields. The Policy Press has also published Low Cost but Acceptable incomes for older people, by the same author.
