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© Andrew Winning / Reuters |
In a climate of unyielding austerity, more than a million people
across the UK are so impoverished they don’t have enough food, clothes,
heating, shelter and toiletries, Britain’s first study into destitution
has revealed.
The report,
which was commissioned by UK charity the Joseph Rowntree Trust (JRT),
used a new method to measure the scale of extreme poverty in Britain.
At
present, there are no official government estimates of the level of
destitution across the UK. But amid growing concern that extreme poverty
is on the rise, the JRF commissioned a special report to investigate
the matter.
The study was conducted by academics at Herriot-Watt
University, a range of other experts and a number of key UK service
providers. It took two years to complete, and was published on
Wednesday.
It found that a startling 1.25 million people were destitute during
2015, 312,000 of whom were children. Some 80 percent of these were born
in Britain.
While young, single citizens – especially men – were
found to be more likely to suffer from extreme poverty, considerable
numbers of families were also found to have suffered destitution.
Most severe form of poverty
Destitution is defined as the “most severe form of poverty in the UK,” which leaves people in such financial jeopardy they are unable to afford vital essentials such as food, toiletries and heating.
In
order to discern whether an impoverished person can be defined as
destitute, the report’s authors said they must lack two or more
essentials deemed vital for basic living over a four-week period.
People who fell into this category included: those who had been
forced to sleep rough; had no meal or just one per day over a period of
48 hours or longer; were unable to heat or light their home adequately
for five or more days, and lacked weather-proof clothes or had to go
without basic toiletries.
No central cause for destitution was
uncovered. However, the majority who fell into this category had been
impoverished for some time and had arrived at a tipping point that
plunged them deeper into financial woe. Key drivers in this respect were
spiraling financial costs of ill health, soaring rental and property
prices, joblessness, and financial shocks such a delays or sanctions to
benefit payments.
Areas rife with destitution
High rates
of destitution were uncovered in ex-industrial areas across the
northwest and northeast of England, Scotland, South Wales and Northern
Ireland, as well as in inner-city London.
Unemployment was rife in these regions, while rates of long-term sickness and disability were also found to be above average.
In-depth
interviews with 80 destitute citizens revealed that 30 percent had had
their benefits sanctioned. Over 50 percent of this group made a direct
link between being stripped of welfare payments and failing to meet the
cost of basic living essentials.
Director of the Institute for
Social Policy, Housing, Environment and Real Estate (I-SPHERE) at
Heriot-Watt University, Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick, who was a key
author of the report, said destitution severely impacts peoples’
physical and mental health.
“The people we spoke to told us
they felt humiliated that they couldn’t afford basic essentials without
help. Many said that this affected their relationships and left them
socially isolated,” she said.
“This report has shown that
destitution is intrinsically linked to long-term poverty, with many
people forced into destitution by high costs, unaffordable bills or a
financial shock such as a benefit sanction or delay. More co-ordinated
debt-collection practices, particularly from DWP, local councils and
utility companies, could help to avoid small debts tipping people in to
destitution.”
Chief Executive of the JRT Julia Unwin said the number of people living in destitution across the UK is shocking.
“It is simply unacceptable to see such levels of severe poverty in our country in the 21st Century,” she said.
“Governments
of all stripes have failed to protect people at the bottom of the
income scale from the effects of severe poverty, leaving many unable to
feed, clothe or house themselves and their families.”
Unwin said that tackling many of the root causes of destitution would be difficult.
“Many
people affected are living on a very low income before they are no
longer able to make their incomes stretch, or a financial shock like a
benefit delay or family breakdown pushes them over the edge into
destitution. We have to tackle these root causes,” she said.
“Government,
businesses and communities need to work together to provide better
emergency support, make basic essentials more affordable and create
better jobs if we are to end destitution in the UK.”
Calls for reform
The
report’s authors identified those who were destitute by surveying
people who relied on charitable crisis services such as foodbanks, debt
advice groups, homelessness groups, and key services for migrants.
Samples were taken from nine areas across the UK over a seven-day period
in 2015.
This did not factor in those who only received help from
councils or state programs, or those who found themselves in deep
financial crisis, but did not seek assistance. As a result, the report
estimates the true number of people living in destitution in Britain is
likely “significantly higher” that 1.25 million.
JRF is calling on Britain’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) to
start officially monitoring the number of destitute people across the
nation. The group argues government policy, the UK’s business sector,
and local communities must work in unison to offer better support to
people in the throes of acute financial crisis.
In particular, it
is calling for the government to address Britain’s housing problem and
the biggest rise of precarious, low-paying work seen since 2010.
Source: RT
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