Poverty, Welfare and Social Class
We explore inequalities, injustices and impacts related to poverty, welfare and social class.
We focus on socio-economic marginalisation. This includes research into injustices associated with the welfare system. We investigate issues through engaged research and evidence-based analysis of policy and practice.
Newcastle researchers partner with local foodbank users to explore their stories.
Newcastle West End Foodbank opened in March 2013. It provides food parcels that feed over 30,000 people every year.
Newcastle University’s Oral History Unit has teamed up with the Foodbank and with Northern Cultural Projects, a community cultural organisation. Together, we worked on Foodbank Histories. The project explores the interconnected life stories behind one of the UK’s busiest foodbanks.
- A social justice story: read more about Foodbank Histories
We have established a digital skills partnership between a community hub in Meadow Well and Newcastle University.
There is a new cutting-edge partnership between community hub Meadow Well Connected in North Shields and Newcastle University’s Open Lab. Together, we are showing people that learning digital skills doesn’t always mean sitting behind a computer.
The partnership encourages local residents to co-create digital projects. The initial focus is on digital content creation. This includes new media, citizen journalism, and programming. Participants use digital methods for anything from designing a garden to remixing music from local bands.
Meadow Well Connected has been serving the local community for over 25 years. Most users live in the top 10% most deprived local wards. 41% of children as classified as living in poverty, and 55% of adults who are in poverty are working.
“When they hear the term digital skills, many people think of filling in job applications, or accessing government services,” explained Prof David Kirk, Director of Open Lab. “But digital can mean anything from creating videos, running a radio show or learning how to code.”
“By working with Meadow Well Connected, we will show that digital skills are broad. We will show that technology doesn’t have to be stressful - it can be creative, and fun.”
Tyne Fresh - creating a food hub
Our collaboration with Meadow Well Connected started in 2017. PhD student Sebastian Prost began working with the community centre on a local food hub project. This later turned into Tyne Fresh.
Tyne Fresh sells food sourced locally or made in Meadow Well. Products for sale include organic vegetables, meat, Geordie stotties, and soup and cookie mixes. Tyne Fresh offers high quality and healthy food to local people at affordable prices.
The role of Open Lab was to provide technical support for setting up an online sales platform. It also facilitated promotion and community engagement. Community members developed a community garden for food production on the under-utilised land of Meadow Well Connected.
Tyne Fresh became a vehicle for an increased focus on food at Meadow Well Connected. It includes:
- the food hub
- the community garden
- family cooking sessions
- supper clubs
- engaging local school children with food growing, cooking, and redistribution
Tyne Fresh also laid the groundwork for the University and Meadow Well Connected to work together on more projects.
The Meadow Well Connected Digi Suite
PhD Student Adam Parnaby worked with staff, volunteers and service users at the centre. They discussed their current experiences of getting to grips with technology.
This led to the design of the Digi-Suite. Community members learn digital skills through self-directed projects relating to their own interests. It is a flexible space closer to a design studio than a classroom, and is supplemented by more conventional educational workshops.
Based on community input, the space offers an extension to core computer skills. It focuses on digital media and content creation, website development, and even VR. “The local community are very engaged in this project and eager to extend their digital skills,” explained Adam. “By working with community members on projects that are important to them, we enable them to take greater control over the technologies affecting their lives.”
- Professor Dave Kirk, Director of Open Lab.
- Adam Parnaby, Doctoral Candidate in Open Lab's Digital Civics Centre for Doctoral Training
- Sebastian Prost, Doctoral Candidate in Open Lab's Digital Civics Centre for Doctoral Training
The North East is no stranger to hardship and poverty.
For many years, many worked in heavy industry, such as the coal industry and the shipyards. The demise of much heavy industry has coincided with the increase in low-paid and insecure work. This has done little to bolster the life chances and opportunities of many residents, particularly in some parts of the North East.
Poverty and its effects is affecting more and more people, and its impact is likely to last for generations. The effects on children of growing up in poverty often extends throughout their lives.
The North East Child Poverty Commission works to address these issues. It has relocated to the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology at Newcastle University.
Exposure to poverty
Being exposed to poverty in childhood is especially damaging. Poverty works to limit choices and opportunities. It prevents people from reaching their potential. Increasingly, it prevents people from meeting simple everyday needs, such as adequate food, heating and other essentials.
Experiencing poverty in childhood has scarring effects. All too often, these extend throughout the life course. Over time, they become ever more difficult to escape.
Despite the political and popular rhetoric around poverty and its causes, the evidence is unequivocal that people want paid employment. This is despite how insecure, low-paid, hard or dissatisfying it might be. But no matter how determined, motivated and committed young people are, the likelihood is that the effects of childhood poverty will follow them through much, if not all, of their lives.
Moving to Newcastle
The North East Child Poverty Commission knows this only too well. Over recent years, it has done sterling work in the region to:
- address the increasingly pressing issues around child poverty
- ensure that the issues facing the North East are being heard in Westminster
The Commission has relocated from Durham Business School to the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology at Newcastle University. By joining forces, we can continue to make our collective voices heard, both regionally and nationally. This is at a time when the need for collective action has never been greater.
Poverty is a condition of limit. Its effects deepen over time, but it is not inevitable. It can be reduced, and even eradicated, where there is a political will.
- Tracy Shildrick is Professor of Inequalities and Head of Sociology in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology at Newcastle University
Equality and human rights work by the University is having both local and national impact.
Dr Koldo Casla coordinated a submission to Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. This resulted in a much publicised visit to Newcastle.
Working with charities JustFair and The Equality Trust, Dr Casla also launched the campaign #1forEquality.
Visit to Newcastle by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights
In 2018, Dr Koldo Casla coordinated a submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Philip Alston. Professor Alston then visited Newcastle. He met with a group of academics from the University, as well as the Newcastle City Council Leader and voluntary and community groups.
Professor Alston’s mission to the United Kingdom was widely covered in the international, national and local media. It led to:
- two inquiries in Parliament (Work and Pensions Committee and All-Party Parliamentary Group on Health)
- one adjournment debate
- several statements by the Department for Work and Pensions’ Secretary and Ministers
- countless motions in local authorities
Professor Alston’s final report was presented at the United Nations in June.
“Poverty and inequality go hand-in-hand. Regional disparities are unusually high by European standards and social mobility in the UK was labelled a “postcode lottery” by the very statutory body in charge of monitoring it.
“There is a widening gap between Newcastle’s highest and lowest earners. Since 2010, the top 20% of earners have seen their wages grow while those of the bottom 20% have seen a decline in real wages,” Dr Casla explains.
- Read the submission: Visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights (PDF: 955KB)
Collaborative impact on Equality and Human Rights
Based on his own research, together with the charities Just Fair and The Equality Trust, Dr Casla launched the campaign #1forEquality. The campaign is bringing socio-economic duty to life (Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010). The campaign has received the support of 75 voluntary sector groups and 82 MPs. It has resulted in key law and policy changes in Scotland, in Wales and in no less than seven local authorities in England.
- Dr Koldo Casla is a Research Associate in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University
Newcastle University wants young people to access university – not just Newcastle – regardless of their background.
Our successful access scheme provides a wide range of resources for teachers as well as on-campus events for schoolchildren.
Helping students to think about going to university
Many talented pupils, particularly in the North East, don’t consider university as an option. They may:
- have no family experience of higher education
- be from areas where few people go to university
- have challenging personal circumstances
For children facing such obstacles, our students and graduates act as role models and ambassadors. They play an invaluable role in helping students from as young as 9 years old to make informed decisions about their future.
Last year, over 270,000 young people from across England took part in a school activity led by Newcastle University. The work begins in primary schools and runs through to sixth forms. The activity meets the needs of the school and the needs of the pupils. It provides a variety of content. For example, we provide teachers with:
- downloadable resources for classroom use to support the curriculum
- facilities to allow schoolchildren to attend intensive, subject-specific residential events on campus
Co-designed with teachers, our interventions align with the national curriculum and the Career Development Institute Framework. They support students to consider and apply to higher education. We underpin our work with robust evaluation to ensure that what we do makes a difference to the school and the participating pupils.
The PARTNERS Programme
The PARTNERS Programme is the University’s long-running and successful access scheme. It is the culmination of a sustained and progressive programme of work.
The Programme considers student achievements in the context of their circumstances. Now in its 19th year, it is one of the largest in the country. Over 4,600 widening participation students have entered the University as a result.
In 2018, we increased both the number and proportion of young entrants to Newcastle University from under-represented groups, including students:
- from low-income families
- from areas where few progress to university
- from black and multi-ethnic backgrounds
- with a disability
- who have spent time in care
Nowhere is this more important than in our region. It consistently finds itself at the bottom of the table for progression of 18-year-olds into higher education.
- Lucy Backhurst is Director of Student Recruitment, Admissions and Progress at Newcastle University