POVERTY How do we define poverty? How is poverty measured? Who lives in poverty?

WHAT IS POVERTY Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to have the living conditions and amenities which are customary in our society. Poorer people in the UK are dependent on benefits for all or a large part of their income.

How do each of the speakers define poverty? What is the difference between needs and wants? How do you define necessities?

ABSOLUTE POVERTY Absolute poverty can be defined as ‘a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs’ (UN 1995). These include food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and access to benefits. Families living in absolute poverty cannot afford the basic necessities for life like food, clothing and shelter. In poorer countries this means that people are so poor that their poverty puts their lives at risk and many may die because they cannot meet their Basic Human Needs.

RELATIVE POVERTY Relative Poverty can be defined as : living standards of the poorest compared others in society. This means that some people are poor compared to the rest of society. These people may experience a lower standard of living which could include basic housing, clothing, a limited diet. They can not afford many luxury items. This kind of poverty affects a persons quality of life.

HOW IS POVERTY MEASURED? The official definition of poverty used by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) class the poverty line at 60% of the median household income. (Households below average income HBAI). Data is sometimes presented before or after housing costs have been accounted for. WHY? Once housing costs have been removed the money left is a better indication of a households disposable income. However the Government prefer using the data before housing costs have been removed because similar international data exists to allow comparisons.

THE POVERTY LINE The Poverty line is the amount of money below which, after adjusting for size and makeup of the household and housing costs, a family is officially poor. the poverty line in the UK in 2012 Single adult, no children: £165 per week Couple, no children: £248 per week Lone parent, 1 child: £215 per week Lone parent, 2 children: £264 per week Lone parent, 3 children: £314 per week Couple, 1 child: £297 per week Couple, 2 children: £347 per week Couple, 3 children: £396 per week .

THE POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION SURVEY - PSE This measures poverty by identifying people who do not have a range of items considered essential for modern life. For example – furniture - heating - decent clothes - somewhere to stay This survey found that 1/3 of the population could be described as poor or at risk of following into poverty. This uses deprivation as a measure of poverty rather than income levels.

The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation - SIMD The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation is a tool used by local authorities, the Scottish Government, the NHS and other governmental bodies in Scotland. The Scottish Government website states that "the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006 combines 37 indicators across 7 domains, namely: current income, employment, health, education, skills and training, housing, geographic access and crime.“ The principle behind the index is to target government action in the areas which need it most.

NON-GOVERNMENT GROUPS Independent researchers also study poverty sometimes on behalf of charities and pressure groups. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is the UK’s largest independent social research and development charity. Poverty, place and ageing society | Joseph Rowntree Foundation

WHO LIVES IN POVERTY? FAMILIES Poverty is greatest among families with children. In 2009/10 Single parent families were twice as likely to be in poverty as families with 2 adults. There are 3.6 million children living in poverty in the UK today. That’s 27% of children, or more than one in four. PEOPLE WITH A DISABLITY Parents with disabilities often face multiple barriers to work; children with disabilities place additional demands on the family. In 2009/10, families with at least one disabled member were 30% more likely to live in poverty than families without disabilities.

WHO LIVES IN POVERTY? CERTAIN ETHNIC MINORITIES As with people with disabilities, discrimination in the workplace clearly plays a role in depressing incomes.  In 2009/10, people from ethnic minorities were 64% more likely to live in poverty than average. UNEMPLOYED FAMILIES OR HOUSEHOLDS Households where only one adult works are at a much higher risk of poverty than average. In 2009/10, families with one or more workless parent were seven times more likely to live below the poverty line than those where both parents had jobs. THOSE LIVING IN INNER LONDON In 2009/10, families living in the capital were one and a half times more likely to live in poverty than families living outside London.

WHO LIVES IN POVERTY? THE ELDERLY More older people only have the basic state pension. Many elderly people are too proud to claim benefits or do not understand how to claim benefits. WOMEN Women are more likely to live in poverty due as single parents, part time workers, child care issues or discrimination. Female pensioners are also more likely to have smaller pensions than men due to time out of their working life to look after family.

WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR POVERTY? The primary cause of poverty is inadequate income. This is caused by unemployment or inadequate wages and benefits. UNEMPLOYMENT The risk of being unemployed varies between groups. It is higher for those with low skills, for some ethnic minority groups (especially Bangladeshi and Pakistani people) and for those living in low employment areas. Other barriers to finding employment include childcare or other caring responsibilities and discrimination for various reasons – race, disability, gender etc.

According to the ONS, in the last three months of 2008 the unemployment rate for black people aged 16 to 24 was 28.8%. In the most recent quarter in 2011, this had risen to 47.4% – an increase of 70% in three years. This is more than double the unemployment rate for young white people, which increased from 15% in 2008 to 20.8% in 2011. Unemployment among young black women, while still higher than any other ethnic group, is lower than the black male percentage, at 39.1%.

BBC News - Economy tracker: Unemployment

CURRENT UNEMPLOYMENT The unemployment rate in the UK is currently sitting at 2.47 million according to the Office for National Statistics – ONS. The unemployment rate fell to 7.8% from 7.9%. A decline in youth unemployment was chiefly responsible for the fall, according to the ONS. A few months after the start of the recession in 2008, unemployment started to rise sharply. When the global financial crisis hit, the unemployment rate was a little over 5% or 1.6 million. Unemployment peaked at almost 2.7 million at the end of 2011, its highest level for 17 years. The number of 16-24 year olds looking for work stands at approx 1 million (just about 21% of the workforce – 965,000 at September 2013). The number of unemployed women has also hit a record high in recent months. Economists say this mostly reflects the greater number of women in the workforce, but this may also be due to the impact of public sector cuts as a higher proportion of public sector jobs are done by women.

Nov 2012 Employment in Scotland is now 2,530,000. The Scottish unemployment rate is 7.1% (194,000), which is below the average of 7.8% for the whole of the UK. BBC News - Scottish unemployment total rises again