Consideraciones sobre el uso del espacio público

Describing a claimant as a pensioner, lone parent, a disabled or unemployed person can be thought of as a shorthand description of a combination of various characteristics. For example, pensioners are most likely to live in one- or two-person households, with no children in the household, are less likely to have income from employment, and are more likely to have health problems than some other households. Lone parents by definition have children, are young to middle-aged, may work, and may have income from maintenance. Unemployed claimants span families with children to young, single, unemployed school leavers who have not yet left the parental home. It is only the factor of claiming Income Support which brings together in one study these diverse groups of people with such very different sets of circumstances. Also particular types of change are likely to apply to particular groups of claimants. Single young unemployed people may be quite mobile in terms of being away from home and changing address, but this is less likely for pensioners and families with children. People with young families may experience changes in the size

of the family, in children's health, or when a child starts school. Families with older children experience children leaving school, or leaving home. People in pre-retirement households may be more likely to be disabled or sick and experience changing health

status; they may receive income from a variety of sources such as an occupational pension and savings. Their children may still not be completely independent but may

periodically leave and return to the family home. Pensioners are likely to be settled in their address unless they need to move to be near families or into residential care, and although they are unlikely to have income from employment, they may have some from pensions and savings. Health changes are common among pensioners and the likelihood of change increases as they get older.

Table 2.7 shows the proportions of survey respondents who had experienced the most common types of change. Unemployed families, younger disabled people and lone parents with no young children were more likely than others to experience changes in their mortgage interest payments. Pensioners were the least likely. Changes associated with numbers of people in the household were most likely to be experienced by unemployed claimants with families, partly because their households were relatively large, just over four people on average. Changes associated with health such as visits to hospital were most likely for those with a long-standing illness, disability or infirmity. Not surprisingly, higher proportions of disabled people and pensioners had long-term illnesses. Lone parents with older children were the group most likely to have worked at some time in the six-month survey period and to have experienced the changes associated with paid employment, such as starting or leaving work, changes in

earnings and so on. They and lone parents with younger children had different spending patterns from the other groups and were most likely to have made a large purchase in the survey period. The more sources of income a recipient had, the more opportunity for a change in income. Younger disabled people were more likely than other claimants to have three or more sources of income (including Income Support).

Table 2.7: Proportions of survey respondents who had experienced the most common types of changes in circumstances

Typeofchanges With mortgage Mean number in household With long- termill- ness Worked in past 6 months Made large purchase in past 6 months With 3 or more sources of N income % % % % Single unemployed 11 2.86 15 14 26 3 176 Lone parent with child under 5 10 3.50 20 13 47 34 113 Other lone parents 21 3.50 23 21 48 41 140 Unemployed family 31 4.07 22 10 34 22 166 Disabled under 45 27 3.09 95 0 27 56 55 Disabled 45 and over 8 2.37 99 1 case 25 44 75 Single pensioner under 75 *9 1 58 1 case 30 36 91 Single pensioner 75 and over *4 I. 64 0 28 35 142 Married pensioners *10 2 64 0 41 49 61 All 15 2.65 42 8 33 30 1,137 * = Percentage based on fewer than ten cases

Source: Survey

Since different claimant groups tend to be associated with common characteristics, they tend also to experience similar `packages' of changes. For example, in the survey, single unemployed people on Income Support had few sources of income, only one person in the household, and a low likelihood of health changes or of making large purchases. They were more likely than average to have been employed but overall their circumstances were least likely to change. Lone parents lived in larger households, were likely to work, to require large purchases and to have a number of sources of income. Older lone parents were also more likely to be buying their home with a mortgage. Thus for almost all circumstances which indicate a probability of change, lone parents scored above average. Unemployed people with a family were more likely than others to have larger households, and be buying with a mortgage, so it is to be expected that changes in their circumstances will reflect this. Older disabled people and pensioners were similar in that they were more likely than others to have experienced changes to health and income. Younger disabled people may also be affected by mortgage changes.