Joseph Rowntree Foundation report: Destitution in the UK 2018

Last year, over 1.5 million people in the UK, including 365,000 children were pushed into destitution.

This is according to a June 2018 report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, looking at the causes of destitution in the UK, and solutions to the problem.

The report states that people are pushed from severe poverty into absolute destitution by a combination of factors such as debt, benefit and health problems. This means going without the bare essentials and being unable to build a decent and secure life .

The report argues that the UK Government needs to:

  • End the freeze on working-age benefits so they at least keep up with the cost of essentials and do not create destitution.
  • Change the use of sanctions within Universal Credit so that people are not left destitute by design.
  • Review the total amount of debt that can be clawed back from people receiving benefits, so they can keep their heads above water.

Find out more about the report, or Download the Executive Summary (pdf), or Download the report in full (pdf).

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