Causes of Poverty in the UK What

Causes of Poverty in the UK

What is Poverty? u “Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to have living conditions and amenities which are customary in our society. ”

Who lives in Poverty? u Poverty is greatest amongst families with children. u Single parent families are twice as likely to be poverty as families with two adults. u On average women have lower incomes than men. Women who are single parents or have given up careers to act as carers are more likely to be in poverty. u Elderly people are now in a better position because many of them are in houses which are worth a lot of money. Although many elderly do live in poverty.

Gender Age The causes of poverty Unemployment Low paid Employment Race Government Policy

Living below the poverty line u defined as 60% of median income u In Scotland 2007/08 there were 860, 000 individuals (17% of the pop) living in poverty

Unemployment u Over half of workless adults of working age live in poverty u In December 2010 UK unemployment rate is 7. 9% u In 2006 it was 5. 3%

What causes unemployment u Structural Changes. u Education. u Technological changes. u Lifestyle. u Foreign Competition. u Government Policy.

Low Income Having a job lowers the risk of poverty but does not guarantee a good standard of living u 40% of adults in poverty live in a house where at least one person works u Av. wage in Britain is £ 200 p/wk u top 10% in Britain can earn around £ 800 p/wk u Bottom 10% earn £ 150 p/wk u Factors that influence low paid unemployment. Geography, Gender, Sector of the Economy. u

Race u 8% of the UK population is from an ethnic minority group. u 52% of Pakistani/ Bangladeshi are likely to live in poverty. u Why is this?

u Cultural Reasons- Pakistani women are more likely to stay at home and look after their families. – Only one income u Larger families than average coupled with lower incomes

u Education- Pakistanis tend to have lower qualifications than average – greatly impacts on the types of jobs that they get. u However Not all ethnic minorities have such a high risk - Indian and Chinese educational attainment is much higher than whites due to the value placed on education.

u Discrimination- Many from Ethnic minorities are offered less interviews which means they have a lower chance of getting a job. u Fluency in the English language can be problem for recent immigrants when seeking work.

Government Policy Benefits Policy- Benefits are set a low level to make more people want to work. u Many peoples benefits are means rested which means that many go with out. u Relative to earnings, out-of-work benefits for working-age adults without children are now worth 20% less than in 1997. u The NMW has raised income levels. Currently £ 5. 73 per hour. u BUT for a single person to reach minimum income standard of £ 13, 400, would need to go up to £ 6. 88 u

Low Income Having a job lowers the risk of poverty but does not guarantee a good standard of living u 40% of adults in poverty live in a house where at least one person works u Av. wage in Britain is £ 200 p/wk u top 10% in Britain can earn around £ 800 p/wk u Bottom 10% earn £ 150 p/wk u Factors that influence low paid unemployment. Geography, Gender, Sector of the Economy. u

Gender u Women are more likely to be employed in low paid jobs u WHY? u Women tend to be carers for young, sick and elderly family members and this greatly effect them developing careers. u Lots of women in part time work. Sales, cleaning etc.

Gender u In 2003/04 the average female wage was just 53% that of a male u on average Women in FT jobs are paid 17% less than men. u 42% of women work PT u Only 9% of men

The Glass Ceiling • an invisible barrier that prevents women reaching the top jobs. • Women make up: 3% of executive directors • 10% of company directors • 25% of department heads • Why?

Family Structure u Single parent families and families with large numbers of children more at risk of poverty u Why? u 57% of female lone parents do not work u 42% of children living in poverty are in single parent households

Geography Poverty is highest in N England, Scotland Wales u Why? Differences in unemployment levels, home ownership, average incomes u However, poverty and wealth exist side by side in many areas – Drumchaple and Bearsden u Living in a deprived area can affect your life chances u Scotland has the areas with highest proportion of low paid workers u Borders, Moray, West Dunbartonshire, Dumfries. u

Education u The lower a person's qualifications, the higher their risks of being out of, but wanting, work or being in work but low paid. u those with no qualifications are twice as likely to be lacking but wanting paid work u And if working, they are two-and-ahalf times as likely to be low paid.

Age u There are two main groups who are vulnerable to poverty- Children and the Elderly