Number of children in extreme poverty rises to 550,000
Joe Lepper
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
The number of children living in destitution has increased to 550,000, according to latest figures analysed by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
It found that “worryingly” there has been “a big rise in destitution” which now affects one million households, involving 2.4m people and including 550,000 children.
The latest figures relate to 2019 and are a rise of 35 per cent on destitution data from 2017.
The charity warns that the figures suggest “further increases” due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Destitution describes extreme poverty where people are unable to provide for themselves or their family.
Among households with children to be worst affected will be those in social and rented housing. Almost half of social renters are already living in poverty “reflecting their comparatively lower incomes”. In addition, a third of private renters are in poverty, said the JRF.
A lack of ability to save among low income families is a key factor in escalating poverty, which is increasing their existing levels of debt.
Around half of people in the poorest fifth of households say their existing level of debt is a “burden”.
Racial inequality is also a factor in rising rates of poverty, which is likely to mean Bangladeshi, Pakistani and black families will continue to have high poverty rates, of in excess of 40 per cent, said the JRF.
"Low pay is also fuelling an increase in poverty,” it warned.
“Around a third of working-age adults in families, where there is only part-time work, are in poverty, as are almost a quarter of people working in the administrative and support service sector,” warns the charity.
The figures have been revealed in the JRF’s UK Poverty 2022 report, that calls for a “coordinated commitment, effort and action” to “turn back the tide of poverty and offer security for the many people experiencing hardship across the UK”.
For a comprehensive look at the trends in poverty across all its characteristics and impacts, read our #UKPoverty2022 report in full, here 👇https://t.co/NPFljIA21U
— Joseph Rowntree Foundation (@jrf_uk) January 19, 2022
The report also warns that the Covid crisis is widening educational inequality.
“This is due to a range of factors including the digital divide, home learning environments and potentially deepening poverty over the pandemic,” says the JRF’s report
The JRF is predicting worsening financial pressures over the coming two years due to a rise in the cost of living. It points out inflation is forecast to be above three percent until April 2023.
Latest figures show that the cost of living is increasing at its fastest rate in just under 30 years. Consumer price inflation rose to 5.4 per cent in the 12 months to December. The previous high was 7.1 per cent, recorded in March 1992.