Challenge of poverty in the UK

MORE than 7% of the British population, amounting to 4.6 million people, live in persistent poverty, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported.

Women in Britain suffer more poverty than men, with the gap between the two genders at its widest level since the records became available.

The ONS study says the level of persistent poverty was the fifth lowest of all members of the EU. By comparison, Romania had the highest poverty level at 19.3% and Denmark the lowest at 4.3%.

Households in persistent poverty are those who are at risk of poverty with equivalised disposable income at or below 60% of the national median, and have been at risk of poverty for at least two of the three preceding years.

In 2015, the at-risk-of-poverty threshold in Britain was £12 567.

ONS said the gap between Britain and EU average persistent poverty rates had been widening, from 0.2 percentage points in 2008 to 3.6 in 2015.

A spokesperson for ONS said: “Looking at personal well-being among persistently poor individuals, they expressed very high levels of anxiety and very low levels of happiness and satisfaction compared with the population as a whole.

“Britain’s level of persistent poverty is similar to that in Sweden, Hungary, Cyprus (7.3%), the Netherlands (7.3%) and Slovakia (7.3%), but the level is lower than in France and Italy.

Poverty is measured by the inability to afford nine essentials in modern everyday life, and includes affording rent or bonds on homes, having at least a week long holiday away from home, eating a meat or vegetarian meal every other day, affording a telephone and colour television, owning a car, and keeping the home warm.

Almost three in 10 of Britons were unable to afford four or more of the essentials on the “poverty list”. – Xinhua