Around six million people were in very deep poverty in 2021-22 - 1.5 million more than 20 years ago

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has today produced a scathing report revealing the sheer scale of poverty in the UK, highlighting how levels of hardship have deepened for millions of people across the country since the mid-1990s.

The report reveals that 14.4 million people were living in poverty in 21/22, with some local authorities having as many as 4 in 10 children living in poverty.

Around six million people were in very deep poverty in 2021-22 – 1.5 million more than 20 years ago, meaning that they received less than 40% of the country’s median (middle) income after housing costs.

The JRF also said that millions of families needed to more than double their incomes in order to escape poverty. The report also highlighted how the poverty gap has widened over recent decades.

Using the example of a couple with two children under 14 living in poverty, the 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. They would need an additional l £12,800 per year to reach the poverty line if they are living in very deep poverty.

The chart below shows the sheer scale of poverty in the UK, outlining how many people in the UK are in poverty and the different poverty rates for different groups.

The charity called on political parties to tell voters what they planned to do before the general election to tackle poverty, finding that it was 20 years and six prime ministers since there was last a sustained fall in poverty.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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