A minimum income standard for Britain : what people think

Abstract

A minimum income standard based on what people said is needed to\nachieve an acceptable standard of living in Britain today.\nWhile politicians from all parties are committed to tackling relative poverty, the\ndebates lack a robust defi nition of a minimum income standard (MIS), below\nwhich people’s incomes should not fall. This study devised a minimum income\nstandard for Britain based on what members of the public said, and shows the\ncost of covering basic goods and services for different household types.\nThe project blends the best elements of the two main methods that have been\nused to develop budget standards in Britain in recent years. It reconciles the\nviews of experts with those of ordinary people, allowing budgets based on social\nconsensus to be tested against expert knowledge and research. As such, the\nMIS represents a new and important tool for informing social policy in order to\npromote fairness and well-being in Britain.