Millions of people in UK would need to double their income to escape poverty, new report warns
Millions of Britons would need to more than double their income to climb out of poverty, according to a new report criticising “social failure at scale”.
According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, six million people were in very deep poverty in 2021-22 – 1.5 million more than 20 years ago.
This means they received less than 40% of the country’s median (middle) income after housing costs.
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UK faces ‘return to Victorian era’
These people would need an additional £12,800 a year to reach the poverty line, which is defined as 60% of median income.
Giving an example of a couple with two children under 14 living in poverty, JRF suggested the average income for this type of family after housing costs was £21,900 – and they would need an extra £6,200 yearly just to reach the poverty line.
In the mid-1990s, the gap was £3,300 after adjusting for inflation.
The JRF has warned that the poverty gap – the amount of money needed to bring the incomes of those in poverty to the poverty line – has widened.
In 2021-22, 22% of the population (14.4 million people) were in poverty in the UK – including 8.1 million working-age adults, 4.2 million children and 2.1 million pensioners.
This equates to two in 10 adults, and three in 10 children.
People have been increasingly reliant on food banks – especially this winter
There are many reasons why people are stuck in poverty – including illnesses or redundancies – but according to the Big Issue, “structural and systemic issues” worsened by increasing living costs create a “cycle that keeps people trapped” in hardship.
The JRF showed that poverty rates grew rapidly under Margaret Thatcher’s administration in the 1980s and remained high, with small decreases in following governments.
Its report urged political parties to include an essentials guarantee in Universal Credit, ensuring people always have enough to cover “life essentials like food and energy”.
Former prime minister Gordon Brown recently told Sky News that Universal Credit was “not working” and needed to be addressed after citing families unable to afford fundamental housing appliances and forgoing basic hygiene products like soap and toothpaste due to the cost of living crisis.
The Trussell Trust network, which supports more than 1,300 food bank centres across the UK, had forecast that more than 600,000 people would rely on food banks from December until February this year.
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Over 465,000 UK households will suffer this winter
Paul Kissack, JRF group chief executive, confirmed families were spiralling deeper below the poverty line.
He said: “Little wonder that the visceral signs of hardship and destitution are all around us – from rocketing use of foodbanks to growing numbers of homeless families.
“This is social failure at scale.”
Mr Kissack said political parties must set out their plans to “turn back the tide on poverty” as the country approaches a general election.
Consumer champion Martin Lewis said the “stark reality” was that people’s incomes were less than their minimum necessary spend, despite help from money charities.
He said the JRF report must prompt policymakers and regulators to “sit up [and] take note and address these deep-rooted problems”.
A government spokesperson said: “We are continuing to support families with the cost of living backed by £104bn – and there are 1.7 million fewer people living in absolute poverty, including 400,000 children, compared to 2010.
“Children are five times less likely to experience poverty living in a household where all adults work, compared to those in workless households.”
The spokesperson added that taxes have been cut and inflation is being curbed “so hard-working people have more money in their pocket”.
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
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Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
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