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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Tag: United Kingdom

Poverty in the UK

Poverty – and child poverty in particular – is rising, By Patrick Butler, April 29, 2015, The Guardian: “Poverty in the UK is increasing after two years of heavy welfare cuts have helped to push hundreds of thousands of people below the breadline, according to an independent study of the coalition government’s record.  Although middle-earners saw incomes rise marginally after 2013, policies including the bedroom tax and below-inflation benefits rises have reduced incomes for the poorest, pitching an estimated 760,000 into poverty since the last official figures were produced, according to the New Policy Institute (NPI) thinktank…”

UK Cost of Living and Poor Households

300,000 more people live in poverty than previously thought, study finds, By Larry Elliott, November 4, 2014, The Guardian: “The number of people living in dire poverty in Britain is 300,000 more than previously thought due to poorer households facing a higher cost of living than the well off, according to a study released on Wednesday. A report produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that soaring prices for food and fuel over the past decade have had a bigger impact on struggling families who spend more of their budgets on staple goods. By contrast, richer households had been the beneficiaries of the drop in mortgage rates and lower motoring costs…”

Fuel Poverty – United Kingdom

Heating bills concern 38% of UK population, survey suggests, September 5, 2013, BBC News: “More than a third of people in the UK say they are concerned about paying for their heating bills this winter, a BBC Radio 5 live survey has suggested. It found 25% of people had put up with “unacceptably cold” homes in the past year as they struggle to pay bills. And 63% of the 1,035 adults surveyed said they had cut their energy use because of rising costs…”