More
than 4 million people in the UK are trapped in deep poverty, meaning
their income is at least 50% below the official breadline, struggling
to afford the most basic living essentials, an independent study has
shown.
Also
7 million people, including 2.3 million children, were affected by
what it termed persistent poverty, meaning that they were not only in
poverty but had been for at least two of the previous three years.
It
found that of 14.3 million in the UK in poverty, 4.5 million were in
deep poverty – a third of all those on the breadline, and 7% of the
population. In cash terms this means a couple with two children would
have an income of less than £211 a week after housing costs, and a
single parent with one child would be on less than £101.50 a week.
The
finding echoes wider concerns about the re-emergence of extreme
poverty, known as destitution,
which separate research has shown was experienced by an estimated 1.5
million people in the UK as a result of benefits cuts and high rents.
A destitution level of income is £140 a week for a couple with two
children.
The
Social Metrics
Commission chair, Philippa Stroud, a Conservative peer,
said there was a pressing need for a concerted approach to the
problem. “It is time to look again at our approach to children, and
to invest in our children as the future of our nation.” The commission’s membership is drawn from experts across
the political spectrum, and includes representatives from the
Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the
Office of the Children’s Commissioner. It was set up in 2016 to
develop a
new way of measuring poverty.
Campaigners
said the commission showed austerity had undermined two decades of
anti-poverty policy. “By cutting £40bn a year from our work and
pensions budget through cuts and freezes to tax credits and benefits,
the government has put progress into reverse,” said Alison Garnham,
the chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group.
Children,
children of lone parents, and pensioners – have had hardship levels
rise since 2013 as a result of austerity measures such as the benefit
freeze, reversing earlier downward trends, the commission said. Disability is one of the strongest predictors of being in poverty.
Nearly half of all those living below the breadline live in a
household where someone is disabled.
There
has been a dramatic rise in child poverty in families with three or
more children, up 9% points since 2013-14. This is in part a result
of policies that penalise larger families such as the benefit freeze.
The figures do not capture the impact of the two-child benefit limit
introduced in 2017, which is likely to push levels even higher.
It
also confirms that work is no longer a guarantee of protection
against poverty. At the millennium 54% of children in poverty lived
in a family where an adult worked. That rose to 73% in 2o17-18. Even
in families where all adults work full time, one in six children are
in poverty.
No comments:
Post a Comment