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| 'Michael Philpott is a perfect parable for our age': The data suggests otherwise | 'Michael Philpott is a perfect parable for our age': The data suggests otherwise |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| In the face of vitriol about "evil born out of welfare dependency" and historic government welfare reform, data is critical. But - short of analysing the correlation between receiving welfare and being capable of manslaughter in order to frame a former lover - this isn't easy to do. So we've provided some numbers that give this horrific case some context. | In the face of vitriol about "evil born out of welfare dependency" and historic government welfare reform, data is critical. But - short of analysing the correlation between receiving welfare and being capable of manslaughter in order to frame a former lover - this isn't easy to do. So we've provided some numbers that give this horrific case some context. |
| Family size | Family size |
| Your first clue that the Philpotts might not be representative of a typical British family is that they had 17 children. In 1996, there were 3.1 million families with just one dependent child. In 2012, that figure had risen to 3.7 million. That also represents a greater proportion, since in 1996, 42% of all families had only one child aged under 16 (or aged under 18 and in full-time education) but by 2012, that was the case for 48% of families. | Your first clue that the Philpotts might not be representative of a typical British family is that they had 17 children. In 1996, there were 3.1 million families with just one dependent child. In 2012, that figure had risen to 3.7 million. That also represents a greater proportion, since in 1996, 42% of all families had only one child aged under 16 (or aged under 18 and in full-time education) but by 2012, that was the case for 48% of families. |
| For the biggest of British families, those with eight or more dependent children, the number has remained constant at approximately 2,000 families. On average, British families are having fewer children. | For the biggest of British families, those with eight or more dependent children, the number has remained constant at approximately 2,000 families. On average, British families are having fewer children. |
| Family size and welfare | Family size and welfare |
| Of those large families, only a fraction receive government welfare. In 2011, 130 families with ten children received some form of out-of-work benefit. And for the very biggest famillies, those with 14 or more children, so few receive benefits that the number is deemed negligible. | |
| Facts like these can be conspicuously absent in headlines like "the 190 families with ten children who cost you more than £11million in benefits". That's because it's not until the third paragraph that it's explained that huge state benefit sums are what these big families are "eligible" for - not what they're actually receiving. | Facts like these can be conspicuously absent in headlines like "the 190 families with ten children who cost you more than £11million in benefits". That's because it's not until the third paragraph that it's explained that huge state benefit sums are what these big families are "eligible" for - not what they're actually receiving. |
| Previous studies by the Department for Work and Pensions found that the proportion of couple families with one parent in work differs little whether a family has three children (90%) or has one (92%) or two children (94%). | Previous studies by the Department for Work and Pensions found that the proportion of couple families with one parent in work differs little whether a family has three children (90%) or has one (92%) or two children (94%). |
| Family size and types of welfare | Family size and types of welfare |
| The emotion-fuelled benefit debate which the Philpott tragedy has further fuelled has also neglected to take apart the wide variety of assistance that the term 'benefits' captures. | The emotion-fuelled benefit debate which the Philpott tragedy has further fuelled has also neglected to take apart the wide variety of assistance that the term 'benefits' captures. |
| Often forgotten is the fact that it's not just the unemployed that receive benefits. All families currently receive child tax credits, regardless of their income level, let alone employment status. So in 2010/11 HMRC paid more in Child Tax Credit to parents in work (£12.8 billion) than it did to those out of work (£7.6 billion). | Often forgotten is the fact that it's not just the unemployed that receive benefits. All families currently receive child tax credits, regardless of their income level, let alone employment status. So in 2010/11 HMRC paid more in Child Tax Credit to parents in work (£12.8 billion) than it did to those out of work (£7.6 billion). |
| On average, 28% of families receiving some form of out-of-work benefit are receiving a severe disablement allowance or incapacity benefits. The reaction of those prompt to discuss 'scroungers' may be to suggest that many of these disability claims are dishonest. But if housing benefit is anything to go by, 'benefit cheats' can't be blamed for all our welfare woes. According to this House of Commons Report, overpayment accounts for 2% of the annual Department for Work and Benefits spend - amounting to £3.2bn. In 2011/12, £1.1bn of that overspend was due to fraud, but £1.3bn was due to official error (which are deemed non-recoverable). | On average, 28% of families receiving some form of out-of-work benefit are receiving a severe disablement allowance or incapacity benefits. The reaction of those prompt to discuss 'scroungers' may be to suggest that many of these disability claims are dishonest. But if housing benefit is anything to go by, 'benefit cheats' can't be blamed for all our welfare woes. According to this House of Commons Report, overpayment accounts for 2% of the annual Department for Work and Benefits spend - amounting to £3.2bn. In 2011/12, £1.1bn of that overspend was due to fraud, but £1.3bn was due to official error (which are deemed non-recoverable). |
| Misusing benefits | Misusing benefits |
| Research by Save the Children also counters the suggestion that Philpott is representative of others since "his booze, his drugs... were paid for by a benefit system". They found that "only 2.7% of families in Britain have an alcohol dependent parent, and 0.9% a drug dependent parent". What's more, research published in the book 'Why Money Matters' claims that 'low income parents are more likely to spend extra financial support provided through the benefits system on their children than better off parents'. | |
| All of which begs the question, if "the welfare system helped him [Philpott] every step of the way" then why is this story so uniquely tragic? If we have a welfare system burdened with countless Philpotts, all of whom are pushed towards evil, then why has there not been more horrific stories of this kind? | All of which begs the question, if "the welfare system helped him [Philpott] every step of the way" then why is this story so uniquely tragic? If we have a welfare system burdened with countless Philpotts, all of whom are pushed towards evil, then why has there not been more horrific stories of this kind? |
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