Child poverty - monitoring and evaluation: policy evaluation framework

Theme 4 – Reach / Targeting

An important element of any policy evaluation is understanding who are the intended beneficiaries of the policy and whether they are being reached. This theme of the framework looks at the characteristics of the policy's target group. This should be considered early on as part of the policy design stage to ensure effective implementation and optimal impact.

Who is the policy aiming to reach?

Generally, consider the remit of your policy and the characteristics of your beneficiaries. Then, consider how your policy links to child poverty. The more that a policy is targeted specifically at children in poverty, the greater the potential impact of the policy on child poverty targets. Remember the six priority family types more likely to be in poverty, and ensure that your policy thinks about reaching the wide variety of families in poverty.

The funnel approach to children in poverty is as follows:

• All households
• All households with children
• All low income households with children

Below are a list of options for identifying low-income households. This may be helpful in various situations such as:

• when designing research and you need to identify ways of recruiting respondents
• or when using already established datasets and you need to know how to query the data

Depending on the policy, the required information may already be collected as part of the policy delivery process. Otherwise, new information could be collected.

Ask banded income question

There is no single definition for identifying low income households.

In the context of designing research approaches, low income households could be defined as having a household income of between 60-70% of the UK median income. Alternatively, if working on income deciles, low income households could be defined as the two or three bottom deciles.

However, this definition is quite broad as this analysis will not account for household composition and size. If possible, the identification of low income households would combine those who are struggling financially through additional questions.

Question wording suggestions are:

Income question. Harmonised question details Scottish Surveys: Core and Harmonised Questions.

Question: What is your household's total income from all sources over the last 12 months?

Count income from every person included in the household. This would include:

• All earnings (include overtime, tips, bonuses, self-employment)
• All pensions
• All student grants and bursaries (but not loans)
• All benefits and tax credits (such as child benefit, income support or pension credit)
• All interest from savings or investments
• All rent from property (after expenses)
• Other income (such as maintenance or grants)

Do not deduct taxes, National Insurance contributions, Health Insurance Payments, Superannuation payments.

Answers:

Per week: 1. Less than £100, 2. £100 to £199, 3. £200 to £299, 4. £300 to £399, 5. £400 to £499, 6. £500 to £699, 7. £700 to £999, 8. £1,000 to £1,499, 9. £1,500 or more

Per year: 1. Less than £5,200, 2. £5,200 to £10,399, 3. £10,400 to £15,599, 4. £15,600 to £20,799, 5. £20,800 to £25,999,. £26,000 to £36,399, 7. £36,400 to £51,999, 8. £52,000 to £77,999, 9. £78,000 or more

Question wording suggestion for "struggling financially"

Which of these phrases best describes how you and your household are managing financially these days? Answers: Manage very well, Manage quite well, Get by alright, Don't manage very well, Have some financial difficulties, Are in deep financial trouble, Refused, Don't know.

Receipt of income-related benefits

Qualifying benefits require applicants to demonstrate a low income, as such there is a greater likelihood that those in receipt of benefits are in poverty or close to the poverty line. However, the take up rate of benefits is not 100%, meaning that some people who are entitled to benefits do not apply or receive them.

Question wording suggestion:

Are you at present receiving any of the following state benefits, either for yourself or for any children you have?

• Scottish Child Payment
• Universal Credit
• Working Tax Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Best Start Foods
• Best Start Grant
• Council Tax Reduction
• School Clothing Grant
• Education Maintenance Allowance
• Free School meals (on the basis of low income)
• Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance
• Housing Benefit
• None of these
• Don't know
• Refused

Characteristics linked to a high poverty risk

If you do not know or cannot collect data on income, you might know other characteristics of the policy beneficiaries. The following characteristics are known to be linked to a high poverty risk:

• households with disabled household members
• lone parent households
• households with 3 or more children
• minority ethnic household
• households with a baby aged under 1
• households with a mother aged under 25

There are other groups such as social renters or those unemployed or economically inactive households that also have a higher risk of poverty.

Examples of question wording are in the section that follows, 'Identifying specific characteristics of your target audience'.

Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD)

Where policies target areas rather than individuals, an area-based measure such as SIMD can be used.

In order to know a beneficiary's SIMD it is necessary to collect postcode data. All the necessary information and supporting documentation can be found at: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

However, there are households living in poverty who live in affluent areas and, similarly, those who live in deprived areas but are not on a low income or living in poverty.

Identifying specific characteristics of your target audience

This section focuses on how to broaden understanding of the impact a policy can have on child poverty. If you do not know or cannot collect information on household income, you might know other characteristics of the policy beneficiaries.

We know that there are certain household types most at risk of being in poverty. If your policy reaches any of these groups, the likelihood of impact on child poverty is greater. These are:

• Minority ethnic families
• Mothers under 25
• Baby under 1
• Lone parents
• Disabled adult or child
• Three or more children

However there is also a need for more nuanced consideration of the significant intersectionality within the groups, so it is often helpful to think of them as a lens rather than a discrete group. Families with experience of multiple disadvantage are often among those deepest in poverty and who face particularly challenging journeys to get out of poverty. Most of these families will also fall into at least one of the priority family groups. This matters to child poverty because the barriers they face and the support they need will be significant and highly specific.

There are other groups such as students, social renters, unemployed or care leavers where prevalence of poverty is often higher. Depending on your policy aims, you may want to identify your beneficiaries differently.

Collecting demographic information can be quite sensitive or add an extra layer of complexity to administrative process. Professional judgement should be used as to whether it is possible and sensible to collect demographic information. It is worth to consider at what stage of the policy delivery process or evaluation stage it makes more sense to collect demographic information.

To support standardisation of data collection, below are some example question wording for collecting demographic information that allows identification of families most at risk of poverty.

Gender

Suggested wording: Sex, gender identity, trans status - data collection and publication: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Notes: While only one priority family type specifically identifies women (i.e. mothers under 25), evidence shows that women are more likely to be the main carer amongst lone parent families, disabled families and families with a baby under 1.

Age

Suggested wording: Data collection and publication - age: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Parental status

Suggested wording: To identify whether parents are living as a couple or the household is a lone parent.

Number of dependent children in the household

Suggested wording: To identify households with children. Depending on the scope of the research, you may have to ask broadly whether there are any children at all in the household.

Notes: For official statistics, a dependent child is defined as a person aged 0-15, or a person aged 16- 19 and: not married nor in a Civil Partnership nor living with a partner, and living with their parents, and in full-time non-advanced education or in unwaged government training.

Age of youngest dependent child

Suggested wording: Data collection and publication - age: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Disabled person in the household

Suggested wording: Two part question. Data collection and publication - disability: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Notes: Ideally, information will be collected as to whether it is the adult or the child who is disabled

Ethnicity

Suggested wording: To identify minority ethnic groups. Details: Data collection and publication - ethnic group: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Notes: Ethnicity is a complex issue. There is no consensus as to what constitutes an 'ethnic group'. Research shows that it can mean different things to different people. It encompasses aspects of identity, race, ancestry, history, culture. It is very diverse.

Guidance suggests which groups to include in the minority ethnic category. This will incorporate some white minority ethnic groups.