Number of working Brits forced to live in poverty hits record high

Number of working Brits forced to live in poverty hits record high

Britain is going into Brexit with half a million more children trapped in poverty, following a relentless rise in the number of working families struggling to make ends meet over the last five years. 

The assessment comes the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), which has published its state of the nation report UK Poverty 2018 examining how poverty has changed over the last 20 years, and providing the most comprehensive and up to date picture of the challenges and prospects facing low income families. 

Overall, one in five of the UK population (22 per cent) are in poverty - 14.3 million people. Of these, 8.2 million are working-age adults, 4.1 million are children and 1.9 million are pensioners. Eight million people live in poverty in families where at least one person is in work. 



In-work poverty has been rising even faster than employment, with nearly all of the increase among working parents. There are now four million workers in poverty, around one in eight in the economy. 

The UK government challenged the JRF report’s findings, saying that many fewer people were living in absolute poverty.

However, the JRF data is reflects that published in September by the Social Metrics Commission, a cross-party body chaired by Baroness Stroud, a Conservative peer. The commission used a new measure of poverty saying that this applied to people who lived on 55 per cent of total resources available to an average family, based on a three-year average, including unavoidable costs such as rent, childcare, disability support and subtracting savings. It said that 14.2 million people were in poverty.

The JRF uses the definition of poverty previously used by the government and applying to people or families with an income of less than 60 per cent of median income for their family type after housing costs. This was scrapped by David Cameron and George Osborne in 2015. Under this measure the report said that 14.3 million people lived in poverty.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation chief executive,Campbell Robb, said: “We are seeing a rising tide of child poverty as more parents are unable to make ends meet, despite working. This is unacceptable. It means more families are trapped in impossible situations: struggling to pay the bills, put food on the table and dealing with the terrible stresses and strains poverty places on family life. 

“It’s time for us to decide what kind of country we want to be. As we leave the EU, we must tackle the burning injustice of poverty and make Britain a country that works for everyone. 

“We can do this by taking action on housing, social security and work to loosen the constraints poverty places on people’s lives. No one wants to see more families being pushed over the brink.  

“We have an opportunity to fix this and ensure everyone can reach a decent standard of living – it is one we must seize to make the country work for everyone after Brexit.” 

Hazel Ratcliffe, a working lone parent from Fife, said: “Life can feel like a hamsters’ wheel: I am working and pushing myself so hard, but feel like I’m stuck. Every week I have school dinner money to give the boys, diesel for my car, food for the house. Most weeks I manage, but it involves rigid meal planning, then going around the supermarket with a calculator to ensure I stay within budget. Clothes, shoes and food are so expensive.  

“I live in private rented accommodation. Benefits should loosen the constraints of low pay and high rents. I think the government needs to increase benefits to match the rate of inflation. The minimum wage needs to be more like the living wage and make sure work is a route to a decent quality of life.” 

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