DSS/PSI Programme of Research into Low-Income Families, 1991-1995

The <i>DSS/PSI Programme of Research into Low-Income Families</i> (PRILIF) studied low-income families with dependent children. The study was conducted by the Department of Social Security (DSS) (now the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)), and the Policy Studies Institute (PSI).<br>
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The PRILIF series began in 1991, when a nationally-representative survey of low-income families was undertaken to study the effects of Family Credit on labour market opportunities. The series finished in 2001, and comprised seven waves, deposited at the UK Data Archive (UKDA) in three parts:<ul><li><i>DSS/PSI Programme of Research into Low-Income Families, 1991-1995</i> (held under SN 3977)</li><li><i>DSS/PSI Programme of Research into Low-Income Families, 1996 and 1998</i> (SN 4425)</li><li><i>DSS/PSI Programme of Research into Low-Income Families, 2001</i> (SN 5406)</li></ul>The PRILIF series examined five main policy issues:<ul><li>how lone parents could improve their incomes, combining paid work, benefits and maintenance payments</li><li>the effectiveness of child support</li><li>the failure of some families to claim their benefit entitlement</li><li>the persistent dfficulties experienced by some families, especially the lowest paid couples, in maintaining themselves in paid jobs</li><li>the wider effects of the use of income-tested in-work benefits on incentives to work</li></ul>The main focus of the research was on families on the margins of work and concerned the influence of different sources of income (benefits, maintenance and earnings) on their labour market participation and family welfare.<br>
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A similar survey series, the <i>Families and Children Study</i> (held under SN 4427), is also conducted by the DWP. <br>
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More information on the PRILIF study, including details of publications, may be found on the <a href="http://www.psi.org.uk/" title="Policy Studies Institute">PSI</a> web site.<br>
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