Joseph Rowntree Foundation finds problem is âdeeper and more damaging than at any point in the last 30 yearsâ
The UKâs poorest families are getting poorer, with record numbers of people classed as in âvery deep povertyâ â meaning their annual household incomes fail to cover the cost of food, energy bills and clothing, according to analysis. Although overall relative poverty levels have flatlined in recent years at about 21% of the population, life for those below the breadline has got materially worse as they try to subsist on incomes many thousands of pounds beneath the poverty threshold. About 6.8 million people â half of all those in poverty â were in very deep poverty, the highest number and proportion since records began three decades ago, said the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), which carried out the analysis. Households on the lowest incomes were still experiencing a cost of living crisis four years on, with millions of people forced to go without food, falling behind on household bills and having to borrow to survive, said JRF. âPoverty in the UK is still not just widespread, it is deeper and more damaging than at any point in the last 30 years,â said Peter Matejic, the JRFâs chief analyst. Very deep poverty is defined as less than 40% of the UK poverty threshold after rent. The average income of a household in very deep poverty is 59% below the poverty line. For a couple with two young children this amounts to ÂŁ16,400 or below. Although households move in and out of very deep poverty, about 1.9 million people (3%) in the UK are persistently in this category. A couple with two young children in very deep poverty would need to earn an extra ÂŁ14,700 a year to entirely move out of poverty. The analysis draws on data for the year 2023-24, the final year of the last Conservative government and the latest for which official figures are available. No progress in reducing poverty was made under the Tories between 2010-11 and 2023-24, the JRF concludes.
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