"The UK's poorest families are getting poorer, with record numbers of people classed as in very deep poverty meaning their annual household incomes fail to cover the cost of food, energy bills and clothing, according to analysis. Although overall relative poverty levels have flatlined in recent years at about 21% of the population, life for those below the breadline has got materially worse as they try to subsist on incomes many thousands of pounds beneath the poverty threshold."
"Very deep poverty is defined as less than 40% of the UK poverty threshold after rent. The average income of a household in very deep poverty is 59% below the poverty line. For a couple with two young children this amounts to 16,400 or below. Although households move in and out of very deep poverty, about 1.9 million people (3%) in the UK are persistently in this category."
"A couple with two young children in very deep poverty would need to earn an extra 14,700 a year to entirely move out of poverty. The most recent estimates show about 3.8 million UK people experienced destitution a category even more extreme than very deep poverty, in which households cannot afford to stay warm, dry, clean, clothed and fed, the JRF said."
Relative poverty in the UK has remained around 21% in recent years, but the depth of poverty has worsened significantly. Approximately 6.8 million people—about half of those in poverty—are in very deep poverty, the highest number and share since records began. Very deep poverty is defined as household income below 40% of the poverty threshold after rent; the average household in this group has an income 59% below the poverty line. Around 1.9 million people are persistently in very deep poverty. Millions continue to face severe cost-of-living pressures, borrowing, going without food, and destitution.
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