• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Poverty increasing for children and pensioners, researchers suggest

Four million children and two million pensioners are now living in poverty, up by 400,000 and 300,000 respectively over the past five years.

Jack Peat by Jack Peat
February 7, 2020
in News

Poverty has increased for children and pensioners over the last five years, a new study suggests.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said that, despite rising levels of employment, in-work poverty has also gone up because often people’s pay, hours, or both, are not enough.

Just over half of people in poverty are in a working family, compared to 39 per cent 20 years ago, according to the research.

JRF said 14 million people were living in poverty, including four million children and two million pensioners, up by 400,000 and 300,000 respectively over the past five years.

Highest poverty rates

The highest poverty rates were in London, the North of England, the Midlands and Wales, and lowest were in the South, Scotland and Northern Ireland, said the report.

The differences in poverty rates were often driven by the availability of good quality jobs and housing costs, said JRF.

The report said people were more likely to be in poverty if they lived in certain parts of the UK, in a family where there is a disabled person or a carer, if they work in the hospitality or retail sector, or if they live in rented housing.

RelatedPosts

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe freed – but may face new charges in Iran

1% NHS pay rise ‘an insult’, says son of nurse killed by Covid-19

Brexit is battering UK-EU trade flows, shocking figures show

Nasa’s groundbreaking Mars rover hits the dusty red road in first trip

JRF called on the Government to improve job security and quality, see the benefits system as an essential public service that loosens the grip of poverty, and help make more low-cost housing available.

Firm foundation

Executive director Claire Ainsley said: “The new Government has an historic opportunity as we enter the 2020s.

“Past successes in recent decades show that it is possible for the UK to loosen the grip of poverty among those most at risk, but this progress has begun to unravel and it will take sustained effort across the country and throughout the governments of the UK to unlock poverty.

“Millions of families care for each other, raise their children and work hard without any guarantee that they will escape poverty, governments, employers and landlords all have a role to play in changing this.

“It’s not right that so many are unable to build a firm foundation to their lives because their jobs are insecure or they can’t find a home they can afford.

“Without a better deal for working families, and a social security system that provides a public service for all of us, the UK faces further division and deeper poverty.

“That better deal needs to encompass the basics we all need, from building new homes to funding social security and bringing better jobs to all parts of the country.”

Zero hours contracts

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady commented: “The Government must crack down on business models based on poverty pay and insecure jobs.

“Zero hours contracts should be banned and the minimum wage must go up to at least £10 an hour right away.”

JRF said the poverty indicator it used is when a family has an income of less than 60 per cent of median income for their family type, after housing costs.

James Taylor, of disability equality charity Scope, said: “These findings are shocking, but sadly will not be surprising to disabled people.

“Many disabled people find it incredibly difficult to make ends meet.

“Life costs much more for disabled people, on average £583 a month. At the same time, huge numbers of disabled people are denied the opportunity to get into and stay in work.”

Cost of living

The Trussell Trust’s chief executive Emma Revie said: “The findings from JRF’s report today could not be clearer – for too many people it’s becoming harder and harder to keep their heads above water.

“At food banks, we’re seeing issues with our benefits system, like the five-week wait for Universal Credit and payments not covering the cost of living, pushing more people than ever before to food banks.”

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “Tackling poverty will always be a priority for this Government.

“We know that getting into work is the best route out of poverty and there are more people in work than ever before. Wages are outstripping inflation and absolute poverty is lower than in 2010.

“We know that some need more help, which is why we spend over £95 billion a year on working-age benefits. Millions will see their benefit payments rise further from April and we’re also boosting the incomes of pensioners each year through the triple lock.”

Massive inequalities across the UK

Muhammed Butt, of London Councils, said: “There are massive inequalities across the UK, with the worst here in London. This crucial report lays bare the serious challenge of tackling deprivation in the capital.

“In contrast to the simplistic myth-making about London, the streets here aren’t paved with gold.

“London has among the highest poverty rates in the UK, with the most severe pensioner and in-work poverty and two-thirds of the national homelessness total.”

Related: Liverpool Council rejects government instructions to fly Union Jack on Prince Andrew’s birthday

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Tags: headline
Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

How To Make: Beef Cabbage Stir-fry

How To Make: Beef and Cabbage Stir-fry

‘We gave as much as we possibly can’ to NHS heroes, Boris claims

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe freed – but may face new charges in Iran

Image by AdobeStock

Weather forecast, alerts and UVB index for London, Sunday 7 March 2021

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.