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2008 poverty figures: our response
CAP's Coordinator Niall Cooper reflects on the latest, shocking Government poverty figures. How should the churches respond?
It's time to Get Fair
The Government figures published on 9 June revealed increases in child and pensioner poverty. On top of recent increases in food, fuel and other prices , this is bad news not just for Gordon Brown, but for the millions affected by poverty across the UK. More shocking is the fact that Britain is now a more unequal country than at any time since 1961. What does this mean in practice, and how should Christians respond?
Can the Government end child poverty?
Firstly, the cold statistics. In the year to March 2007, the
number of children living in poverty increased by 100,000 to 2.9 million – or
more than 1 in 5 of all children living in the UK. The Government initially made
good progress in tackling child poverty, lifting more than 600,000 children out
of poverty between 1997 and 2004. Sadly, since 2004, the number of children
still in poverty has remained more or less static, despite the Government’s
commitment to halving child poverty by 2010. The Government admitted it found
the latest figures “disappointing”.
The figures were made public a day after the publication of a damning report into the state of childhood in the UK, which paints a dismal picture of a society that routinely breaches the rights of its children, demonises young people and detains more under-age offenders than any other country in western Europe.
Which children are most likely to be affected? Top of the list are children whose parents are not in work. Seven out of ten children in two-parent families where neither adult is in work are in poverty – a higher proportion even than for lone-parent families. However, more than half of all poor children live in households where someone is working, so much more needs to be done to make sure that people move out of poverty when they move into work. Pakistani and Bangladeshi households are also disproportionately affected by poverty, as are those with at least one disabled adult – and half of all children in inner London live below the poverty line.
The figures show what a huge task the Government took on when it committed to halving child poverty. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has estimated that the Government will need to spend a further £2.8bn each year to have any chance of meeting its target of halving child poverty by 2011. But the chancellor will be under pressure to spend the same amount renewing last month's “one-off” income tax cut, most of which benefits families on middle incomes rather than the poor.
Sarah Ley decided to stay at home to look after her three children. But that means she and her husband Adrian are one of the families who have failed to heed the Government's advice to “maximise their ability to work”. As a result, they face falling below the poverty line.
Mr Ley, 38, is a self-employed children's entertainer whose earnings fluctuate. His income - £8,680 in 2006 but more than £12,000 last year - is supplemented by tax credits and child benefit.
Mrs Ley said: "We can't afford a new car. We have never had a foreign holiday. We don't go to restaurants, we don't drink or smoke and we don't go out very often. I knit and sew and we grow some of our own vegetables."
Pensioner poverty – cutting back to survive
The increase in pensioner poverty – up 300,000 over the 12 months to March 2007 – was a bigger surprise. The figures laid bare the extent of the poverty trap faced by pensioners who survive on a fixed income. As the rest of the population has become more wealthy, they have been left behind. And many have been particularly badly affected by council tax increases.
Help the Aged described the increase in pensioner poverty as a "disgrace". Mervyn Kohler, special adviser for the charity, said: "The government should be mortified by the latest rise. When older people live on a fixed income it is virtually impossible for them to pull themselves out of poverty. Pensioners often have to cut back on essential household items just to survive.”
Deepening poverty among the elderly comes on top of concerns over falling levels of care for the frail and vulnerable elderly in residential homes. Gordon Brown has already introduced means-tested benefits as his main weapon to reduce poverty among pensioners. Pension Credits currently guarantee an income of £124.05 to single people and £189.35 to couples. But there are concerns that many pensioners find the byzantine means-testing system too daunting. Others are thought to be too proud to ask for handouts.
Victor Sadler (74), from Grimsby, has difficulty surviving on a basic state handout of just under £100 a week. Victor is just one of 1.8-million of Britain's 11 million pensioners who are now living on, or below, the poverty line.
"Prices are constantly rising, for bills, food and just living in general," he said. “Pensions just don't rise at the same rate. You need a strict eye to spot the cheapest bargains and there are many things I just can't afford. I have to turn the heating off when I leave a room and I constantly worry that if something bad happens - like a problem with my house - I wouldn't be able to afford to repair it."
Does inequality matter?
Most shocking of all is the fact that inequality in Britain is now at its highest level since figures were first available in 1961. The richest fifth of households now take a bigger slice of national income than ever – 43% – whilst the share taken by the poorest families has dropped to just 7%.
Does the growing gap between rich and poor matter? Some would have us believe not – so long as everyone is getting better off. Sadly, these latest figures show this not to be the case. Whilst the rich continue to amass ever greater wealth, the numbers in poverty have gone up – not down.
10 years ago, in a far-sighted report, the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales commented that: “There must come a point at which the scale of the gap between the very wealthy and those at the bottom of the range of income begins to undermine the common good. This is the point at which society starts to be run for the benefit of the rich, not for all its members.”
And even before the latest figures were released, the Archbishop of Canterbury called on the Government to do more to protect the poorest and most vulnerable from the likely consequences of an economic downturn. Speaking in a House of Lords debate just a few weeks ago, Rowan Williams highlighted the fact that Government targets on tackling poverty risked not being met, and warned that in a period of economic decline the poorest in society were most at risk.
“So serious is this prospect that over 45 major NGOs are later this year launching a national campaign called Get Fair, which is aimed at once again galvanising the commitment to end child poverty by 2020, and at tackling the negative and unjust image of people living in poverty that prevails in a worryingly large percentage of the population.”
The challenge Get Fair has set itself is to shift the public mood from blaming the poor, to championing their cause; to counter the belief that poverty is an inevitable part of modern life, and to challenge our political leaders to take seriously the moral imperative of ending poverty close to home. Make Poverty History rekindled our ambitions, reinvigorated our belief that a better world is possible. Our task, and our challenge, is now to bring this hope back home.
You can learn more about Get Fair, and how you can make your voice heard, by visiting www.getfair.org.uk
