Research

Child poverty research

When research was last conducted five years ago, the majority of children in poverty had parents who were unemployed. But a new study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) shows that, even though the majority of children living in poverty now have at least one parent in work, they are earning so little they are unable to raise their family above the poverty line.

The study, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, predicts the Government will fail to meet its promise to halve child poverty by next year unless another £4.2 billion is spent on the problem. It also questions the Government’s assertion that the best route out of poverty is work.

The Government wants to reduce the number of children in poverty from 3.4 million in 1998 to 1.7 million by 2010. However this report forecasts that there will still be 2.3 million children beneath the poverty line when the deadline expires.

The research shows that low-paid and casual labour does not necessarily help in pulling families out of deprivation. Professor Holly Sutherland from ISER explained: ‘The idea is that you get a job, progress upwards and be lifted out of poverty in the long term. But, for a lot of people, the jobs are low-paid, casual and short-term, and often they are back on to benefits very quickly.’

The report concludes that the 2010 pledge could still be fulfilled if the Government spends another £4.2 billion on increasing child tax credits, a means-tested form of benefit for children available only to those on low incomes.

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Mediaeval Colchester

While Colchester’s Roman past is well publicised, mediaeval Colchester has been rather ignored. This is set to change with the publication of a new book, Mediæval Colchester’s Lost Landmarks, by Essex graduate John Ashdown-Hill.

Using a mixture of mediaeval documentary evidence, archaeological evidence and clues from surviving buildings, John sets out to recapture the feel and appearance of the town towards the end of the Middle Ages.

John explains: ‘I have published many articles on mediaeval and local history but wrote Mediæval Colchester’s Lost Landmarks partly because mediaeval Colchester really has been neglected, partly because I was working on local mediaeval sources for my doctorate and found the picture they present of late mediaeval Colchester fascinating (like a mediaeval soap opera) and partly because I really wanted to plug the gap in people’s knowledge and resurrect a missing page from the past.

‘Now when I walk around Colchester, the mediaeval town is almost as present to me as the modern layout and I can see the mediaeval streets, houses and churches in my mind’s eye. One day I’ll probably get run over! My hope is that people who read the book will get to know the vanished sights of mediaeval Colchester as vividly as I now feel I know them.’

This book includes detailed descriptions of the great lost religious landmarks of mediaeval Colchester (including St John’s abbey, the Greyfriars, and St Botolph’s priory), as well as Colchester’s mills and market, port and inns, private houses and sanitation.

In addition, it sets mediaeval Colchester in the wider context of its surrounding landscape of hills, woodlands, streams and the river Colne, and introduces some of the town’s mediaeval inhabitants and their varied activities. What emerges is a detailed picture enabling readers to make an imaginary visit to fifteenth century Colchester, so will be of interest to locals, visitors to Colchester and anyone wanting to learn about the past.

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Also in the printed March edition of Wyvern:

• Looking on the brighter side of life: it's in the genes
• Getting pupils more active
• Strengthening health care research