Children and Young Persons Hub

The data presented is used by the Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office.

This section refers to the percentage of households with children experiencing deprivation, being at risk of poverty and those in consistent poverty.

Deprivation

The deprivation rate measures households considered to be marginalised or deprived because they cannot afford goods and services which are considered to be the norm for other people in society. The identification of these households is based on a set of 11 basic deprivation indicators:

1. Two pairs of strong shoes
2. A warm waterproof overcoat
3. New (not second-hand) clothes
4. A meal with meat, chicken, fish (or vegetarian equivalent) every second day
5. A roast joint or its equivalent once a week
6. Home heating during the last year
7. Fuel to keep the home adequately warm
8. Presents for family or friends at least once a year
9. Replacement for worn out furniture
10. Drinks or a meal for family or friends once a month
11. A morning, afternoon or evening of entertainment once a fortnight

Enforced deprivation is defined as not being able to afford to buy two or more of these 11 basic deprivation indicators. This is the basis for calculating the deprivation rate.

At risk of poverty

The at risk of poverty rate is the share of persons with an equivalised income below a given percentage (usually 60%) of the national median income. The rate is calculated by ranking persons by equivalised income from smallest to largest and then extracting the median (middle) value. Anyone with an equivalised income of less than 60% of the national median is considered to be at risk of poverty. See At Risk of Poverty Indicators Explained (PDF 1,094KB) .

Consistent poverty

The consistent poverty measure counts those who are at risk of poverty and who are experiencing enforced deprivation (two or more types of deprivation from the above list).

An individual is defined as being in ‘consistent poverty’ if they are:

• At risk of poverty according to the definition above and
• Are living in a household deprived of two or more of the eleven basic items listed above.