Increasing Poverty in the UK (Free Essay Sample)

Statistics on poverty in England produced by the Social Metrics Commission show clear signs of an increase in people living under the poverty line since 2010. Though most poverty rates haven't seen distinctive differences, rates for pensioner poverty have almost halved since 2000 while rates for working-age adults have risen slightly. In 2017/18 an estimated 14 million people living in the UK was in relative low income, or 12.5 million in absolute low income which places 22% of the public in low income and 19% in absolute low income. Government systems are failing, and it is worsening the situation. The welfare system Universal Credit set up in 2013 was meant to encourage people to get back into work, but the delays in paying, recalculating problems, and backlogs have put the system under heavy criticism. According to welfare advice worker, Ros Baptiste are the housing benefits, provided by the government which aims to help people with low income with housing costs, not enough to cover bills or food. She says that is causes people to choose between heating their homes or food. High living costs in cities like London makes it even harder for families to get by, despite at least one of the adults being in employment. Slow immigration processes keep immigrants from employment and in financial limbo making them live off government support which asylum applicant Wais Sultani, 29, says isn't enough to cover basic living necessities. Temporary accommodation facilities lack kitchens which forces residents to buy ready-to-eat meals. Local research done by professor of Public Health Nutrition and head of the Department of Clinical Sciences and Nutrition at the University of Chester Lynne Kennedy, shows that an increasing number of people struggling to get by are in full or part-time employment. Families who are falling into financial troubles for the first time are finding the situation harder because they lack the strategies used by other families who have been in poverty for longer. Various areas already hindered by neglect and wear and tear are especially at a disadvantage. St Raphael’s Estate in Brent is one of those areas. Statistics show that one in three households lives in poverty, and the pandemic has only pulled the development in the wrong direction. The economic situation was severely worsened by the COVID-19 outbreak which resulted in bigger existing inequalities and a substantially larger need for food banks across the country. According to logistics and facilities manager, Fahim Dahya the pandemic didn’t cause the problem but helped people to open their eyes up to see it. The government's belief is that things are getting better though but different ways of measuring poverty have made it possible to manipulate rates. The now and here screenshots statistics provide can be misleading as some people only live below the poverty line for a finite amount of time. The Office of the Children’s Commissioner claims Prime Minister Boris Johnson is spreading misleading information about poverty rates. Boris Johnson claims that there were 400.000 fewer families living in poverty now than in 2010, which the commission claim is false. A fact-checking rapport made by researchers for the commission showed that in fact, 600.000 more children lived in poverty compared with 2012 and was expected to increase. This humiliation for the Prime Minister changed his attitude to a more condescending tone when debating with the leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer. The tendency to go into defense mode when questioned about current poverty figures and quickly follow it up with either misleading statistics or self-imposed initiatives taken has become evident among government officials. When UNICEF pledged 25.000 pounds to a south London charity to feed children around the holidays their first emergency response ever, Commons leader Jacob Rees Mogg called It a “real scandal”, “a political stunt of the lowest order” claiming that UNICEF is here to help the poorest countries in the world. It is here implied, that the notion that the UK would need such help is absurd when evidence points otherwise. Again, it is seen that government officials when confronted with issues on the topic and real hazard signs, accusations and condemnation is thrown around. He is also quick to follow up with initiatives the government itself has taken and describes it as “a record of success” when trying to make his party look strong. The consequence of this form of negligence to the real issue could lead to the problem just keep stagnating. The government official's pride and anger at the people trying to do something UNICEF for example blinds them from the real size of the problem growing in the background. The increasing volume of people not being able to pay for food caused the demand for public food banks to follow suit. The aforementioned Fahim Dahya, logistics and facilities manager at the food bank Sufra views the demand for the food banks exploding as an unavoidable event. He expects the demand to escalate when the government furlough scheme is coming to an end. The government-issued help clearly isn't enough to keep people’s heads above water and the huge demand for food banks the likes of Sufra is a sign thereof. There is a clear problem with rising poverty in the UK and in the wake of the pandemic it has gotten worse. The government has gained itself a history of negligence to the problem and the issued benefits aren't enough to sustain families. The slow immigration processes keep immigrants vulnerable with few means to put food on the table while government officials vilify charities that try to help because it makes their own efforts look inadequate. Food banks are successful in supplying families in poverty with food but suspects to be near overrun when the furlough scheme ends.