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UK poverty 2017 The most up-to-date picture on poverty in the UK today Event SlideShare

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This report shows that under this Government inequality appears to be rising and the poorest are being hit the hardest…

… this is absolutely key to the debate raging in the Conservative party about the electability of the Tories – low-income voters remain unconvinced by any of the main political parties.

Lucy Fisher (Chair’s opening remarks) Senior Political Correspondent The Times

UK poverty 2017

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Britain’s record of tackling poverty has reached a real turning point and is at risk of unravelling. Following the first sustained rise in child and pensioner poverty for two decades.

Almost 400,000 more children and 300,000 more pensioners are now living in poverty than in 2012/13.

Campbell Robb Chief Executive Joseph Rowntree Foundation (Opening remarks)

UK poverty 2017

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14 million people are living in poverty in the UK today. More than 1 in 5 of the population struggle to make ends meet for themselves and their families. Record employment is not leading to lower poverty. Changes to benefits and tax credits are reducing incomes and crippling costs are squeezing budgets to breaking point.

Campbell Robb Chief Executive Joseph Rowntree Foundation (Opening remarks)

UK poverty 2017

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UK poverty 2017

If you are in poverty your costs are rising higher than anyone else.

People are stuck in a standstill generation because they are living in poverty in the prime of their life.

Campbell Robb Chief Executive Joseph Rowntree Foundation (Opening remarks)

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UK poverty 2017 A comprehensive analysis of poverty trends and figures Helen Barnard Head of Analysis at JRF @Helen_Barnard

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UK poverty 2017

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UK poverty 2017

Key Findings

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UK’s proud record in peril

– A third of children lived in poverty • By 2011/12, this fell to 27% • Now risen again to 30% • 380,000 more children in poverty since

2011/12

– 28% of pensioners lived in poverty • Fell to 13% in 2011/12 • Since risen to 16% • 300,000 more pensioners in poverty

since 2012/13

Twenty years ago…

UK poverty 2017

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UK poverty 2017

The rise of in-work poverty

• 8 million working age adults and children in poverty in working families

• 3.7 million workers live in poverty • Part-time workers more than twice as likely to

be in poverty than full-time workers: 21% vs 9%

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Costs rising and support falling

• Just under half (47%) working-age adults in the poorest fifth of the population spend more than 1/3 income on housing costs – 3.2 million people

• Inflation rising, real wages falling, benefits frozen

• Inflation higher for those on low incomes than better off in most years since 2003

UK poverty 2017

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Poverty takes its toll on health, relationships and future prospects

• Nearly a quarter of adults in the poorest fifth of the population experience depression or anxiety

• Majority of children from disadvantaged backgrounds don’t get 5 A*-C GCSEs including Maths and English

• 20% of poorest fifth of households have ‘problem debt’

• 70% of people in work in the poorest fifth aren’t building up a pension

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The UK faces a choice…

• Pensioner and child poverty falls showed it is possible to solve poverty

• But rising figures show more action is needed now

– Ensure support keeps up with costs – Make work pay – Reduce housing costs – Improve prospects

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A child living in one of England’s poorest areas is 27 times more likely to go to an inadequate school than a child living in its richest areas.

RT Hon Robert Halfon MP Chair of the Education Select Committee (Keynote speaker)

UK poverty 2017

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UK poverty 2017

Even when they get similar GCSEs and live in the same neighbourhood as non-free school meals (FSM) pupils, FSM students are 34% more likely to drop out of post-16 education.

RT Hon Robert Halfon MP Chair of the Education Select Committee (Keynote speaker)

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Graduates from richer backgrounds also earn more than their poorer counterparts, even when they have the same degrees from the same universities.

RT Hon Robert Halfon MP Chair of the Education Select Committee (Keynote speaker)

UK poverty 2017

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UK poverty 2017

How do British politics respond to

the current picture of poverty?

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It’s been very clear that one of the things really driving both poverty and the pressure on state spending is rising housing costs…

…We need 80,000 new homes a year and that will get us back to the point where everything else we’ve talked about today has a fighting chance of success.

Helen Barnard Head of Analysis Joseph Rowntree Foundation

UK poverty 2017

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We should continue to be very shocked by the level of unemployment amongst disabled people.

Nancy Kelley Deputy Chief Executive NatCen

UK poverty 2017

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We need to… unfreeze benefits and restore some of the cuts from Universal Credit because if family incomes are under pressure it’s very hard to make a difference.

Helen Barnard Head of Analysis Joseph Rowntree Foundation

UK poverty 2017

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Wealth inequality is a huge issue. It changes the way people feel about their lives, their future, their children’s future.

Cllr Claire Kober Leader London Borough of Haringey & Chair of London Councils

UK poverty 2017

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We have record employment, that was supposed to fix everything but it doesn’t, work doesn’t pay the way it is supposed to anymore. We have a skills and education system that’s just not delivering for everyone in this country…

… We can fix these things, there are solutions, there are policies.

Campbell Robb Chief Executive Joseph Rowntree Foundation (Closing remarks)

UK poverty 2017

Read the report and findings

www.jrf.org.uk/report/uk-poverty-2017 #solveukpoverty Sign up for our newsletter at www.jrf.org.uk/subscription

UK poverty 2017

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