Monitoring Poverty And Social Exclusion 2000

The first and second editions of this report, Monitoring poverty and social exclusion: Labour's inheritance (1998) and Monitoring poverty and social exclusion 1999, attracted widespread coverage and set out a base line against which the Labour Government's progress on tackling poverty and social exclusion can be measured.

The report is built around a set of indicators organised into chapters. These chapters focus on low income, worklessness and low paid work, education, ill-health and housing and exclusion. The report provides an overall picture of what is happening and the challenges that lie ahead.

The series of reports, Monitoring poverty and social exclusion, produced annually since 1998 by the New Policy Institute and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, has had a major impact on the debate about poverty and social exclusion in Britain, improving public understanding and holding government accountable for progress. Ever since the first report, however, there have been discussions about the need for a more Scottish-specific analysis, partly in response to a widespread view that some of the issues are somewhat different in Scotland (for example, in health and education) and partly reflecting the observation that much of the debate in Scotland takes place in a Scottish-specific context.

This report follows the model of previous editions, focusing on 50 indicators which are updated for the latest data available. They show both how the indicator has changed over time and how it varies between the population as a whole and the more vulnerable groups within it.

The first edition of this report set out a base line against which the Labour government's progress on tackling poverty and social exclusion could be measured. This edition tracks the indicators over a further year and indicate how the country is fairing with respect to this important social issue.

This is an independent assessment of the progress being made in eliminating poverty and reducing social exclusion in Britain. This report will be a resource and guide to UK policy makers and those wanting to take stock of what is happening and seeking to understand the challenges that lie ahead.