Social Policy group

Introduction

Social policy research examines the various means by which people seek to achieve well-being and the ways government and other agencies promote them. Traditionally the study of social policy has concentrated on the state provision of welfare in promoting people's security of income and housing, their health, education and employment. Recently researchers have looked at the wider range of organisations involved in delivering welfare, including commercial sources, and the wider causes of social exclusion from welfare.

The Social Policy Group at PSI has a strong reputation for high quality independent research. The Social Security Research Team has received core funding from the Department of Work and Pensions (formerly the Department of Social Security) since 1990. The team conducts a continuing programme of large-scale surveys of low-income households that provide a basis both for policy-making in government and for public debate. The second element is Disability Research, which has been supported by a wide range of sponsors including the Economic and Social Research Council, Department of Health, National Centre for Independent Living, British Council of Disabled People and Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Social security research

Social security research in the Group has three main strands:

1. The living standards of people on low incomes and its effects on their well-being, particularly in families with children. This has long been the key focus of social security policy in Britain, and provides the impetus for the other main research themes.
2. The effect of social security on incentives to work, including the take-up of benefits, is an important part of welfare-to-work policy. Where paid work is necessary, though not sufficient for full participation in society, the effects of providing adequate safety net incomes for non-workers come under close scrutiny.
3. The effects of the design of the social security system on family formation and the changing patterns of human relationships.

Current projects include the Survey of Families and Children and the ONE Evaluation Research Project, all of which are funded by the Department of Work and Pensions.

Current projects

Since 1990 the DWP/PSI Social Security Research Team has carried out  research that has provided a substantial base of evidence for policy development in welfare-to-work.

Main programmes of research are:

• The Programme of Research on Low-income Families (PRILIF)
  
• The Survey of Low-income Families (SOLIF)
  
• The Earnings Top-up Evaluation Study (ETU)
  
• The ONE Evaluation Programme
• Employers Pension Provision 2000
• Secondary analysis of the Jobseeker's Allowance Client Survey and Leaving Incapacity Benefit Survey

Other projects

• Discrimination in Europe, IMRA, May-September 2002

Disability research

The Disability Research programme comprises two main strands of work, both of which are addressing various aspects of disability policy within the broader contexts of social exclusion and citizenship. These are the identification of barriers to disabled people’s inclusion in social and economic life and the evaluation of policy and practice which seeks to tackle these barriers.

A major part of our work is developing research methods to monitor the impact of disability discrimination relating to employment, the welfare system, participation in social and cultural activity, public transport systems and the built environment. Other research evaluates existing services for disabled people aimed at promoting independent living and much of this work is carried out in partnership with disability organisations and/or health and social services.

Staff

Social security team

Other activities

Alan Marsh has participated in a number of projects to study the relationship between poverty and poor health and their joint effects on disadvantage in the life-course, with the Health Education Authority, QUIT, and other agencies.

Other research areas at PSI

• Employment
• Social care and health studies
• Environment and global climate change