First published in 1997, this series, published in association with the Social Policy Research Unity at the University of York, is designed to inform public debate about these policy areas and to make the details of important policy-related research more widely available.

First published in 1997, this series, published in association with the Social Policy Research Unity at the University of York, is designed to inform public debate about these policy areas and to make the details of important policy-related research more widely available.

How much does the condition of our housing affect our health? This timely new study looks in detail at the impact poor housing has on health, using data from the National Child Development Study (NCDS). It provides important information to inform the current debate on Our Healthier Nation and to strengthen arguments for health, housing and social care agencies to work together. It focuses on three main areas: if, and when, housing deprivation impacts on overall health; the link between overcrowding and respiratory and infectious disease; housing deprivation and health in the context of other possible influences on health. The study uses the innovative approach of creating indices for both the severity of ill-health and housing deprivation. These indices are incorporated into an analysis of the impact over time of housing deprivation upon health. The authors conclude that housing plays a significant role in health outcomes and hence provides support for the argument that addressing housing deprivation should be central to thinking about health improvement. Home Sweet Home? is essential reading for researchers and students in housing, public health, urban renewal, and social policy as well as professionals working in these areas.

"Beyond Criminology" is an innovative, groundbreaking critique of the narrow focus of conventional criminology. The authors argue that crime forms only a small and often insignificant amount of the harm experienced by people. They show that, while custom and tradition play an important role in the perpetuation of some types of harm, many forms of harm are rooted in the inequalities and social divisions systematically produced in -- and by -- contemporary states. Exploring a range of topics including violence, indifference, corporate and state harms, murder, children, asylum and immigration policies, sexuality and poverty, the contributions raise a number of theoretical and methodological issues associated with a social harm approach. Only once we have identified the origins, scale and consequences of social harms, they argue, can we begin to formulate possible responses -- and these are more likely to be located in public and social policy than in the criminal justice system. The book provides an original and challenging new perspective that goes beyond criminology -- one which will be of interest to students, teachers and policy makers.

This book is the most authoritative study of poverty and social exclusion in Britain at the start of the 21st century. It reports on the most comprehensive survey of poverty and social exclusion, ever to be undertaken in Britain: The Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey. This enormously rich data set records levels of poverty not just in terms of income and wealth but by including information about the goods and services which the British public say are necessary to avoid poverty. The relationship between poverty and factors such as age, gender and paid work are explored, as well as other social issues such as crime and neighbourhood disadvantage. Poverty and social exclusion in Britain charts the extent and nature of material and social deprivation and exclusion in Britain at the end of the 20th century; makes the first ever measurement of the extent of social exclusion based on a survey specifically designed for this purpose and provides a clear conceptual understanding of poverty and social exclusion from both an national and international perspective. This important book should be read by officials and policy makers in national and local government, NGOs, charities and voluntary organisations dealing with poverty and social exclusion. It will also be required reading for academics and students of social policy, sociology, public health, economics and politics.

The results of this report from a major international research project, funded by UNICEF, on child rights and child poverty in the developing world are shocking. They show that over one billion children - more than half the children in developing countries - suffer from severe deprivation of basic human need and over a third (674 million) suffer from absolute poverty. The study's findings indicate that considerably more emphasis needs to be placed on improving basic infrastructure and social services for families with children, particularly with regards to shelter, sanitation and safe drinking water in rural areas. Anti-poverty strategies need to respond to local conditions, as blanket solutions to eradicating child poverty will be unsuccessful. (REPORT)

The growing divide between the poor and the rich is the most significant social change to have occurred during the last few decades. The new Labour government inherited a country more unequal than at any other time since the Second World War. This book brings together a collection of contributions on inequalities in the main areas of British life: income, wealth, standard of living, employment, education, housing, crime and health. It charts the extent of the growth in inequalities and offers a coherent critique of the new Labour government's policies aimed at those tackling this crisis. In particular, the numerous area-based anti-poverty policies currently being pursued are unlikely to have a significant and long-lasting effect, since many lessons from the past have been ignored. The contributors use and interpret official data to show how statistics are often misused to obscure or distort the reality of inequality. A range of alternative policies for reducing inequalities in Britain are discussed and set within the global context of the need for international action. Tackling inequalities is a valuable contribution to the emerging policy debate written by the leading researchers in the field. It is essential reading for academics, policy makers, and students with an interest in inequalities, poverty and social exclusion. Studies in poverty, inequality and social exclusion series Series Editor: David Gordon, Director, Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research. Poverty, inequality and social exclusion remain the most fundamental problems that humanity faces in the 21st century. This exciting series, published in association with the Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research at the University of Bristol, aims to make cutting-edge poverty related research more widely available. For other titles in this series, please follow the series link from the main catalogue page.