The Equalities Review is an independent panel set up by the UK government in2005 to investigate the persistence of social inequalities and to makerecommendations for the development of a unified Commission for Equalityand Human Rights. This paper was originally written for the Review....

Equivalisation of incomes for household size and composition is acceptedpractice when measuring poverty and inequality; adjustments to take account ofother variations in needs are rarely made. This paper explores the financialimplications of one possible source of additional needs: disability....