Cost of Living Crisis
The Facts
It’s no secret that poverty is a major issue in the UK; so what do the numbers tell us, and what action needs to be taken?
According to the ‘households below average income’ report released by the government, 14.4 million people were living in poverty in 2021/2022.
It is alarming to discover that of the 14.4 million people in poverty in the UK, a shocking 4.2 million are children – almost one in three (29 per cent). Furthermore, 8.1 million working-age adults and 2.1 million pensioners also find themselves impoverished.
Unfortunately, things have been getting worse over the past decade; the number of children living in poverty has risen by around 600,000 and pensioner poverty has increased by 500,000. Regrettably, poverty rates have remained fairly consistent for thirty years indicating a gravely entrenched problem within our society.
Since 1994/1995, the overall poverty rate in the United Kingdom has been quite static. While there was some decrease during the pandemic, figures remain largely unchanged. Surprisingly, rates of poverty among pensioners have decreased significantly over this period while unfortunately, they are still higher than average when it comes to children.
It is undeniable that poverty within the workforce has increased dramatically. Of all people living in poverty, more than half (54%) were part of households in which at least one adult was employed. An astonishing 71% of children affected by poverty belonged to working families.
Unfortunately, the situation will only continue to worsen due to the growing cost of living crisis; hundreds of thousands are struggling and being forced into financial hardship as a result. An indication of this crisis can be seen in the extraordinary number of individuals relying on charities such as The Trussell Trust for food aid alone – during April 2022 to March 2023, over 760,000 people turned to their foodbanks for assistance, equivalent in population size to Sheffield.
However, these figures only represent a fraction of those suffering from poverty; countless more are unable to afford food but lack access or knowledge around available support services like food banks and thus remain hungry without seeking help.
It has been discovered that the Food Foundation recorded 9.3 million adults who faced food insecurity in January 2023, of which 3.2 million could not afford meals for an entire day. The Resolution Foundation’s evaluation revealed that 800,000 more people are anticipated to fall into absolute poverty over the period of 2023/24; child poverty alone is estimated to reach its highest level since 1998/99 with 170,000 additional minors living in financial difficulty by 2021/22.
How does poverty come about?
It has been observed that a number of life events, such as sickness or redundancy, have a tendency to lead to poverty. However, it is often structural and systemic issues that bring about destitution and the gradual rise in cost of living only acts as a catalyst for this cycle of hardship.
A big part of this is unemployment and precarious jobs with low pay. Those who did not get adequate access to education or training typically fare worse when competing for stable work opportunities – making it even more difficult to break out of destitution.
Moreover, the welfare system in the UK also makes it hard for those enduring financial difficulty to acquire an adequate income: It is well known that social security payments are insufficient enough so that they cannot avoid impoverishment while in search of employment or managed health ailments.
The path out of poverty is often difficult to access, particularly for those dealing with mental health issues like addiction or having been in prison. In some cases, seeking work could mean one’s income drops since they risk not getting the same level of support from government-funded programs. Such obstacles can make it more challenging for individuals to get back on their feet and have a secure source of income.