Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
The Millennium Survey of Poverty and Social Exclusion (PSE) was designed to update the Breadline Britain Surveys which were conducted by Mori in 1983 and 1990 (see also Gordon et al, Breadline Britain in the 1990s). Firstly, a representative sample of the population of Great Britain was asked for their views on what constitutes the necessities of life in present day Britain. This was done in June 1999 using the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Omnibus Survey. Secondly, a specially selected sample was drawn from respondents to the 1998/99 General Household Survey, and interviewed in detail about their circumstances and their views on a range of issues associated with poverty and social exclusion. This dataset is associated with the second aspect of the survey; the follow-up to the GHS, referred to as PSE. The aims of the PSE survey were: To update the Breadline Britain Surveys; To estimate the size of groups of households in different circumstances; To explore movement in and out of poverty; To look at age and gender difference in experiences of and responses to poverty. It is planned that a similar survey will be carried out in other countries.
Main Topics:
The main topics covered include housing, health, time poverty, social networks and support, necessities, finance and debts, intra-household poverty, poverty over time, absolute and overall poverty, area deprivation, local services, crime, child's school, perceptions of poverty, activism as well as some demographics and information on income.
A Kish Grid was used (see documentation for further information)
Face-to-face interview
Compilation or synthesis of existing material
The face-to-face interviewing was done using CAPI and the interview included a card-sorting exercise. A Computer Assisted Self Interviewing (CASI) module was used to collect answers to sensitive questions, such as those on crime. Where the respondent was reluctant or unable to complete the self-completion section on the laptop the interviewer asked the respondent's permission to ask these questions. Some data were also obtained for this study from the General Household Survey.
