Joe Lepper shows how challenging this will be, despite the progress thatis already being made.
A DEFINITION OF POVERTY
Poverty is a household income of below 60 per cent of the medianincome.
Figures are calculated after housing costs and based on the ages of thetwo children being five and 11.
SOURCE: Department of Work and Pensions, 2006
GOVERNMENT HELP
Families in poverty get help in the form of various benefits and taxcredits. This does not on its own lift them out of poverty, however.
Figures are for families living in local authority housing and based onthe ages of the two children being four and 10.
SOURCE: Family Budget Unit, April 2005
Figures do not include housing or council tax benefit because these varyaccording to circumstances. The Family Budget Unit, based at theUniversity if York, also calculates what is an acceptable budget forfamilies to live healthily. These figures have not been included sincethe unit is reviewing this process to take into account recent highrises in earnings. More accurate data should be available in 2007.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF POVERTY
Even for those the Government claims are now free of income poverty,life is still tough. Many families are forced simply to do without basicnecessities or else accrue enormous debts each week.
Social deprivation has a profound effect on children's health, educationand wellbeing, and research shows that children living in poverty arealso at much greater risk from crime, behavioural problems and poormental health.
- Mental disorder is defined as a mental or behavioural disorder thatcauses distress to the child or has a considerable impact on theirday-to-day life.
SOURCES: 1 Department for Education and Skills, 2004; 2 Office ofNational Statistics, 2004
- Persistent poverty refers to those spending three or more years inpoverty.
SOURCE: Loughborough University, Centre for Research in Social Policy inassociation with Save The Children, 2005
NUMBER OF CHILDREN LIVING IN POVERTY
Figures released this month (March) reveal that the Government hasmissed its first key target, to cut the number of children living inpoverty by around a million between 1999 and 2005. It missed the targetby 300,000. This will make it even harder to meet the 2010 target toreduce child poverty by half compared to 1999 and to eliminate it by2020. Ministers say that far from abandoning these goals, they willredouble their efforts.
Most campaigners use the after housing costs figures, which take intoaccount rent and mortgage payments, since they believe it shows a moreaccurate picture of poverty.
GOVERNMENT SPEND ON ALLEVIATING POVERTYThe main mechanism by which the Labour Government has so far liftedaround 700,000 children out of poverty is child and working tax credits.DURING 2004/05CHILD WORKINGTAX CREDITS TAX CREDITSTOTAL SPEND10 billion 3.8 billionNUMBER OF CLAIMANTS5.7 million 1.75 million% OF ALL GOVERNMENT BENEFIT AND TAX CREDIT SPEND7.55% 2.87%SOURCE: Institute of Fiscal Studies, 2005
% OF CHILDREN IN POVERTY
Tax credits and measures to remove barriers to people entering theworkforce, such as help with childcare, have been effective in reducingthe number of families living in poverty. But further research showsthat these may well have been the easiest cases. Figures relating tothose living in the severest poverty have barely changed in recentyears. Addressing these more difficult cases is crucial if theGovernment is to meet its target of lifting a further million childrenout of poverty by 2010.
Loughborough University's Centre for Research in Social Policy wascommissioned by Save the Children to analyse Government data to show thenumbers living in severe poverty (below 27 per cent of the medianincome) as well as poverty (below 60 per cent of median income). Thereport's authors and Save the Children are the only campaigners andacademics in the UK to classify severe poverty. Others believe thefigure of 27 per cent is too subjective and prefer not to differentiatebetween severe and non-severe poverty.
SOURCE: Loughborough University, Centre for Research in Social Policy inassociation with Save The Children, 2005
UK COMPARED TO EUROPE
Much more needs to be done if the UK is to catch up with its Europeanneighbours, who, bar Portugal, Ireland and Italy, all have a smallerproportion of children living in poverty.
- The figures shown here were produced by Unicef, which defines povertyas an income below 50 per cent of the national median.
The UK is also behind Australia where 14.7 of children fall into thisgroup, and Canada, which has a figure of 14.9.
SOURCE: Unicef, 2005; Map: (C) Maps in Minutes 2005
THE FUTURE
Current policies are unlikely to do enough to meet the 2010 and 2020targets. Campaigners want to see a cross-government strategy thatobliges departments to "poverty-proof" all policies and initiatives. Thebenefits system needs urgent attention, including making tax creditsless prone to over- and under-payments, as well as reform of the ChildSupport Agency. New measures are likely to continue to focus on helpingpeople into work, with children's centres and wraparound childcareaccessed through extended schools playing a key role. But with half ofchildren in poverty living in families where a parent does work, low paywill also need more attention.
SOURCE: Department of Work and Pensions, 2006.
