Feeling the pinch
Research highlights the severe impact of rising living costs
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has highlighted the severe impact that rising living costs are having on low income households. A recently published report reveals that state benefits provide for less than half of what the public considers an ‘adequate’ income.
The research set out to identify what the public think is enough money to live on. A single person in Britain needs £16,850 a year before tax to afford a basic but acceptable standard of living. Couples with two children need at least £19,400 each.
Participants in the study were clear that a minimum living standard should provide for more than mere survival. One older woman taking part in the research summed up this view: ‘Food and shelter keeps you alive, it doesn’t make you live.’
The research describes how the cost of household goods and services is rising faster than the official rate of inflation.
Both working-age and out-of-work benefits are failing to keep up with the increased costs of everyday living.
Families with children are particularly feeling the squeeze. Earnings needed to make ends meet have risen by over five per cent, at a time when average earnings have been flat.
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