Bristol University: One third of Brits now in poverty

Tony Gosling tony at cultureshop.org.uk
Sun Jun 22 14:57:48 BST 2014 


Largest UK poverty study calls on government to tackle rising deprivation

http://bristol.ac.uk/news/2014/june/poverty-study.html
Press release issued: 19 June 2014

The percentage of households who fall below 
society’s minimum standard of living has 
increased from 14 per cent to 33 per cent over 
the last 30 years, despite the size of the 
economy doubling. This is one of the stark 
findings from the largest study of poverty and 
deprivation ever conducted in the UK.

Other key figures reveal that almost 18 million 
people cannot afford adequate housing conditions; 
12 million people are too poor to engage in 
common social activities; one in three people 
cannot afford to heat their homes adequately in 
the winter and four million children and adults 
aren’t properly fed by today’s standards.

<http://bristol.ac.uk/news/2014/june/http://www.poverty.ac.uk/>The 
Poverty and Social Exclusion in the United 
Kingdom (PSE) project, led by the University of 
Bristol and funded by the Economic and Social 
Research Council (ESRC]), has shown that 
full-time work is not always sufficient to escape 
from poverty and calls on the government to take action.

Experts will discuss the findings, looking at 
trends from the past 30 years, and how best to 
tackle the problems at the 
<http://bristol.ac.uk/news/2014/june/http://www.poverty.ac.uk/take-part/events/final-conference>3rd 
Peter Townsend Memorial Conference which begins in London today [19 June].

Researchers from the University of Bristol, 
Heriot-Watt University, the Open University, 
Queen's University Belfast, University of 
Glasgow, University of Oxford, University of 
Birmingham, University of York, the National 
Centre for Social Research and Northern Ireland 
Statistics and Research Agency found that:
    * About 5.5 million adults go without essential clothing.
    * Around 2.5 million children live in homes that are damp.
    * Around 1.5 million children live in 
households that cannot afford to heat their home.
    * One in four adults have incomes below what 
they consider is needed to avoid poverty.
    * One in every six (17 per cent) adults in paid work are poor.
    * More than one in five adults have had to 
borrow in the last year to pay for day to day needs.

The PSE standard of living survey results show 
that more than one in every five (22 per cent) 
children and adults were poor at the end of 2012. 
They had both a low income and were also 
‘multiply deprived’ - suffering from three or 
more deprivations such as lack of food, heating 
and clothing due to a lack of money.

Professor David Gordon, from the 
<http://bristol.ac.uk/news/2014/june/http://www.bristol.ac.uk/poverty/>Townsend 
Centre for International Poverty Research at the 
University of Bristol, said: “The Coalition 
Government aimed to eradicate poverty by tackling 
the causes of poverty.  Their strategy has 
clearly failed. The available high quality 
scientific evidence shows that poverty and 
deprivation have increased since 2010, the poor 
are suffering from deeper poverty and the gap 
between the rich and poor is widening.”

Far more households are in arrears on their 
household bills in 2012 (21 per cent) than in 
1999 (14 per cent).  The most common bills in 
arrears now are utility bills, council tax and mortgage/rent.

Results from the PSE project dispel the myth, 
often conveyed by government ministers, that 
poverty in general and child poverty in 
particular is a consequence of a lack of paid 
work – a result of shirking rather than striving.

It found that the majority of children who suffer 
from multiple deprivations – such as going 
without basic necessities, having an inadequate 
diet and clothing - live in small families with 
one or two siblings, live with both parents, have 
at least one parent who is employed, are white and live in England.

More than one in four adults (28 per cent) have 
skimped on their own food in the past year so 
that others in the household may eat. Despite 
this over half a million children live in 
families who cannot afford to feed them properly.

In 93% of households where children suffer from 
food deprivation, at least one adult skimped on 
their own food ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’ to ensure 
others have enough to eat. Women were more likely 
to cut back than men - 44 per cent of women had 
cut back on four or more items (such as food, 
buying clothes and social visits) in the last 12 
months compared to 34 per cent of men.

Professor Jonathan Bradshaw, from the University 
of York, said: “The research has shown that in 
many households parents sacrifice their own 
welfare - going without adequate food, clothing 
or a social life - in order to try to protect 
their children from poverty and deprivation.”

Wages are low and working conditions are bad in 
many parts of the UK. One in every six (17 per 
cent) adults in paid work are poor – they suffer 
from both a low income and cannot afford basic necessities.

For a large number of people, even full-time work 
is not sufficient to escape from poverty. Almost 
half of the working poor work 40 hours a week or 
more.  One third of adults currently in 
employment (35 per cent) are in ‘exclusionary 
work’ - in poverty, in low quality work and/or 
have experienced prolonged periods of unemployment in the last five years.

Nick Bailey, from the University of Glasgow, 
said: “The UK government continues to ignore the 
working poor; they do not have adequate policies 
to address this growing problem.”

Although more people today see a range of public 
services as ‘essential’ than in 1999, including 
libraries, sports centres, museums, galleries, 
dentists and opticians, the use of many services 
has declined since 1999 primarily due to reduced 
availability, cost or inadequacy.

Professor Glen Bramley, from Herriot-Watt 
University, said: “It is worrying that in the 
21st century more than 40 per cent of households 
who want to use meals on wheels, evening classes, 
museums, youth clubs, citizens’ advice or special 
transport cannot do so due to unavailability, unaffordability or inadequacy.”

The situation is of course not all bad.  Usage 
and adequacy of a few universal services such as 
buses, trains, corner shops and most children’s services has risen since 1999.

Northern Ireland, 
<http://bristol.ac.uk/news/2014/june/http://www.poverty.ac.uk/pse-research/legacies-troubles>Legacies 
of the Troubles

In Northern Ireland, the PSE living standards 
survey had a special section on people’s 
experience of violent events during the 
‘Troubles’. This looked at death and injury of 
close friends and relatives, witnessing violence 
such as bomb explosions or assaults, imprisonment 
and other events such as moving house because of 
threats, attack or intimidation.

Experience of violent events in the past 
increased the chances of suffering from ‘multiple deprivation’ in the present.

Overall, more than a quarter of adults in 
Northern Ireland (26 per cent) lacked three or 
more necessities but for those who lost a close 
friend, the deprivation rate is 36 per cent.
    * For those who had a close relative injured the rate is 38 per cent.
    * If someone witnessed an assault, the deprivation rate is 43 per cent.
    * If a close relative had spent time in 
prison, the deprivation rate is 45 per cent.
    * Those who had their house searched by the 
police or army have a deprivation rate of 56 per cent.
    * The deprivation rate for those who moved 
house due to attack, intimidation, threats or harassment is 58 per cent.

Professor Mike Tomlinson, from Queen’s University 
Belfast, said: “Research in many parts of the 
world has shown that violent conflicts can result 
in long term problems of poverty and 
deprivation.  This is what has happened in 
Northern Ireland.  The evidence is clear. 
‘Dealing with the past’ needs to include tackling 
the deprivation of those whose lives are most 
blighted by the years of conflict.”


Further information

Details of the PSE survey

The PSE study is based on two surveys conducted 
in 2012.  The ‘Necessities of Life’ survey was 
carried out between May and June 2012 and is 
based on a sample of 1,447 adults aged 16 or over 
in the Britain and 1,015 in Northern Ireland. The 
living standards survey interviewed 5,193 
households (4,205 in Britain and 988 in Northern 
Ireland) comprising 12,097 people (9,786 in 
Britain and 2,311 in Northern Ireland).

The 
<http://bristol.ac.uk/news/2014/june/http://www.poverty.ac.uk/system/files/PSE%20UK%202012_living%20standards%20questionnaire.pdf>full 
living standards questionnaire can be downloaded 
from the 
<http://bristol.ac.uk/news/2014/june/http://www.poverty.ac.uk/>PSE website.

The PSE: UK research was financed by the Economic 
and Social Research Council (ESRC).  It is a 
major collaboration between the University of 
Bristol, Heriot-Watt University, The Open 
University, Queen's University Belfast, 
University of Glasgow, University of Birmingham, 
University of Oxford, and the University of York 
working with the NatCen and NISRA.

About the ESRC

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) 
funds research into the big social and economic 
questions facing us today. We also develop and 
train the UK’s future social scientists. Our 
research informs public policies and helps make 
businesses, voluntary bodies and other 
organisations more effective. Most important, it 
makes a real difference to all our lives. The 
ESRC is an independent organisation, established 
by Royal Charter in 1965, and funded mainly by the Government.

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