Poverty and Inequality in the UK

This study examines the causes and impacts of poverty and inequality in the UK. It explores the relationship between poverty and education, income inequality, and housing. The study also discusses measures to reduce poverty and promote economic growth. Minimum income standards and the role of government in addressing poverty are also discussed.

Problem Solving

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Poverty and inequality mainly goes hand in hand. Inequality is mainly associated with the
well- being of an individual. On the other hand, poverty is also mainly focused on the lower end
distribution who tends fall below the poverty line. Poverty and inequality tends to go hand in
hand. This study will highlight on evaluating the grand challenge associated with the poverty and
inequality. Moreover, this study also tends to focus on constructing a causal loop diagram and
evaluate one system based methodology in order to address the grand challenge related with the
poverty and inequality. This study also examines the critical reflection associated with the
strengths and weaknesses of the system methodology.
MAIN BODY
Poverty is referred to as the state of the individual or community which tends to lack high
degree of financial resources in order to maintain a minimum standard of living. It means that the
income level of the certain individual or community is so low from employment that their basic
needs cannot be met. Poverty and inequality mainly goes hand in hand. Inequality is mainly
associated with the well- being of an individual. Growth within the household income in United
Kingdom since the year 2008 is considered to be very low (Cooke, Hague and McKay, 2016).
The income gap between the poor and the rich tends to remain consistent. There seems to be high
degree of inequality in consumption, income and wealth in which eventually results in high
degree of inequality and poverty within the United Kingdom. The key factor which contribute to
poverty in United Kingdom is mainly associated with an education system. The reduction in the
government spending on services which contributes to the benefit of the community is
considered to be one of the biggest challenge which contributes towards poverty in United
Kingdom (Mills, 2015). People were more likely to be affected by poverty and United Kingdom
are those individuals who has lower degree of formal education and long-term unemployment.
They tend to live below the poverty line and a restricted to access to living better standard of life.
Unemployment essentially caused by high degree of lower employment opportunities and wage
differences between the people (Kabeer, 2015). There is a systematic demand and supply and
associated with different set of experience, qualifications and skills of individuals. One of the
key prominent driver of inequality within United Kingdom is that increase in the value of the
housing is one of the most common cause of inequality and poverty which results in low income
people cannot buy houses and eventually leads to lower standard of living. Poverty is also mainly
1

focused on the lower end distribution who tends fall below the poverty line. Poverty and
inequality tends to go hand in hand. The poverty line in the United Kingdom is referred to as a
household income which is below 60%. There are around over 3 million children who in turn
tends to live below poverty line. It has been evaluated that, household income which is below 60
percent or less of the UK’s media median household income which is estimated to be around
£25,000. The household tends to bring less than £15,000 is considered to be the one below
poverty line (Browne and Hood, 2016). United Kingdom being one of the most developed
country, those individuals who has been living within the lower end of the income distribution
tends to have low degree of standard of living.
One of the key and prominent way of measuring poverty within the United Kingdom. It
has been estimated that, 14.3 million are below the poverty line within UK. Among which 8.3
million people are within the working age adult group. 4.6 million people are children and
around 1.3 million people tends to belong to the pension age group. There seems to be decrease
in the poverty line since the year 2010 (Bunyan, 2016). The UK has effectively recovered from
the financial crisis. The government within the UK is effectively planning one of the most
prominent way in measuring the poverty. As per the 2017 report, 20% of the people tends to live
below poverty line in United Kingdom. The poverty line tends to demonstrate the number of
people who in turn has been falling below a designated income levels in relation to the specific
demographic.
2

Economic growth is considered to be as one of the most prominent factor which helps in
creating high degree of opportunity to the lowest paid workers. High degree of economic growth
is one of the most prominent measure because it helps in reducing the poverty and inequality
within United Kingdom. Providing high degree of employment accessibility opportunities is
considered to be as one of the most prominent measure which helps in reducing the income
inequality and poverty within people. The wage to the lowest paid tends to rise at higher pace
when compared with the people who has been paid higher wages (Kannan, 2017). There seems
to be high degree of increase in the minimum wage level has been increased which in turn
eventually leads to reduction in the income inequality and poverty within UK. The government
in turn tends to provide high degree of economic growth which in turn eventually creates
reduction in inequality and poverty levels within UK. The government in turn tends to provide
social security payments which is considered to be very prominent in reducing the inequality and
poverty within UK. Moreover, the economic growth will eventually not result in reduction in the
inequality and poverty. There seems to be no reduction in the income and poverty levels within
the UK when high degree of opportunity has been given to the individuals who in turn are highly
3

educated and skilled. Which means that the poor people are not being benefitted from this which
eventually leads to greater number of inequality (Hood and Waters, 2017). There seems to be
large degree of increase in the number of part time and flexible roles within UK economy. This
in turn does not provide job security to the workers. Hence, this eventually results in increase in
the high degree of poverty levels and inequality within UK. Moreover, increase in the high
degree of welfare benefits is mainly associated with the indices and it does not help in supporting
the poorest people in UK. For example, increase in the wage and inflation level is considered to
be significantly higher than the inequality will eventually increase (Saunders, 2017). Economic
growth within the isolation is considered to be as one of the most prominent measure because it
helps in resolving the poverty and inequality issues.
Increase in the level of corruption, inequal poverty, poverty, incraese in the public
expenditures, incrase in the investmnet of the public, tax revenue, incarse in private investment,
GDP, etc. is considered to be as one of the most prominent challngeing factor which in turn
largely results in poverty and inequality among the people in UK.
The governmnet in turn tends to focus on incraesing the high degree of ,easures which is
mainly associated with the reduction in the poverty (Jenkins, 2016). Means tested wefare
4

benefits available to the poorest of the society such as unemployment, food stamps, housing
benefit, income support, etc. is considered to be as one of the most effective measure which
helps in reducing the poverty nad inequality levels within UK.
Boosting up the income levels and reducing the cost is considered to be one of the most
prominent approach which has been taken by the government and the United Kingdom in order
to reduce poverty levels. Improving the education standards helps in raising knowledge and skills
of the individual person which eventually leads them to gain better employment opportunities
(Cribb, Norris Keiller and Waters, 2018). Hence, high degree of employment opportunities leads
to better standard of living. This eventually leads to low degree of poverty levels and equality
within United Kingdom. Government tends to focus on delivering effective benefit system to the
individuals and poor of the society eventually helps in reducing poverty levels in UK. Poverty
results in depriving of the society and also wasting the potential of the individual who have the
valuable capacity to contribute to the welfare of the economy. The government must focus on
promoting long-term economic growth United Kingdom which helps in benefiting all the
individuals that is poor and rich within UK. Strengthening the communities and families is also
considered to be one of the appropriate measures to reduce poverty levels within United
Kingdom (Rodríguez-Pose and Hardy, 2015). Minimum income standards is one of the
appropriate measure which has been taken by the government in order to contribute towards
reduction in the poverty levels. The destitution is considered to be one of the most severe form of
poverty within United Kingdom which states that the individual does not have the capacity to
afford even basic essentials such as food, house, staying healthy, et cetera.
Minimum income standard is considered to be one of the most affective research method which
has been developed by the United Kingdom and has also applied to various other countries levels
(A Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom in 2019, 2020). Minimum income
standard is useful in identifying what income level every different group of household tends to
require in order to maintain a socially acceptable living standard.
Minimum standard of living is mainly associated with the maintenance of the specific
standard of living (Cooke, Hague and McKay, 2016). A minimum adequate standard is referred
to as one which helps in enabling the individual to have minimum of those things which helps in
permitting conformity with the specific set of values within the group in which an individual
attaches.
5

Minimum income standard is considered to be one of the most effective methodology
which is used in order to describe certain set of political criteria which has been implicated by
the government to in order to assess the adequacy of the income levels (A Minimum Income
Standard for the United Kingdom in 2019, 2020). Minimum income standard is one of the most
prominent measure which helps in calculating the local living wage. Minimum income standard
researchers facilitate a series of deliberative focus groups all who in turn tends to focus on detail
negotiation in order to come to a specific confesses about the household things in order to attain
an acceptable living of standard (Hoynes and Patel, 2018). Consistence with the help of
projection, where each group members are asked to demonstrate the needs and preferences in
order to live a standard life. The minimum income calculator is considered to be one of the most
prominent online tool which has been used by the members of the public in order to calculate the
minimum budget for their specific households.
Re-storing and up rating of the value of benefits which is mainly associated with children
and families should be of key priority in order to reduce poverty and inequality within United
Kingdom. More family is working on a full-time job is considered to be one of the most
prominent approach which helps in reducing poverty and inequality within United Kingdom
(Cribb, Norris Keiller and Waters, 2018). High degree of education to the people and more
employment opportunities without any discrimination with appropriate pay scale helps in
reducing poverty and inequality within United Kingdom. The key and prominent strength
associated with the Minimum income standard is to effectively identify various set of things
which can be easily afford by the individual. The key disadvantage associated with this
minimum income standard is that, it does not resolve the issue associated with the
unemployment. It does not tend to offer various set of personal growth opportunities to the
individual. The government of the United Kingdom in turn tends to trigger the inflation due to
high degree of increase in demand for the particular goods and services. Due to the high degree
of inflated prices there won’t be an increase in the standard of living for the long run. Moreover,
a reduced set of programs which in turn tends to have smaller payments in turn does not tends to
make high degree of significance associated with the poverty stricken family and community.
Government must in turn tends to focus on providing high range of benefits and take appropriate
initiative with the people in order to take appropriate set of action to reduce poverty and
inequality. Minimum income standard is considered to be as one of the most prominent
6

methodology because it helps in representing the set budget standard in order to dispose set level
of income to the specific group of household in order to meet the basic needs and requirements
of the individual.
CONCLUSION
From the above conducted study it has been summarized that, poverty is also mainly
focused on the lower end distribution who tends fall below the poverty line. As per the 2017
report, 20% of the people tends to live below poverty line in United Kingdom. The government
must focus on promoting long-term economic growth United Kingdom which helps in benefiting
all the individuals that is poor and rich within UK. Minimum income standard is considered to be
one of the most effective methodology which is used in order to describe certain set of political
criteria which has been implicated by the government to in order to assess the adequacy of the
income levels.
7

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Browne, J. and Hood, A., 2016. Living standards, poverty and inequality in the UK: 2015-2016
to 2020-2021 (No. R114). IFS Report.
Bunyan, P., 2016. The role of civil society in reducing poverty and inequality: A case study of
the living wage campaign in the UK. Local Economy, 31(4), pp.489-501.
Cooke, E., Hague, S. and McKay, A., 2016. The Ghana poverty and inequality report: Using the
6th Ghana living standards survey. University of Sussex.
Cribb, J., Norris Keiller, A. and Waters, T., 2018. Living standards, poverty and inequality in the
UK: 2018 (No. R145). IFS Report.
Hood, A. and Waters, T., 2017. Living standards, poverty and inequality in the UK: 2016-2017
to 2021-2022 (No. R127). IFS Report.
Hoynes, H.W. and Patel, A.J., 2018. Effective policy for reducing poverty and inequality? The
Earned Income Tax Credit and the distribution of income. Journal of Human Resources, 53(4),
pp.859-890.
Jenkins, S.P., 2016. The Income Distribution in the UK. Social Advantage and Disadvantage, ed.
by H. Dean, and L. Platt, pp.135-160.
Kabeer, N., 2015. Gender, poverty, and inequality: a brief history of feminist contributions in the
field of international development. Gender & Development, 23(2), pp.189-205.
Kannan, K.P., 2017. Interrogating inclusive growth: Poverty and inequality in India. Routledge.
Mills, C., 2015. The psychiatrization of poverty: Rethinking the mental health–poverty
nexus. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 9(5), pp.213-222.
Rodríguez-Pose, A. and Hardy, D., 2015. Addressing poverty and inequality in the rural
economy from a global perspective. Applied Geography, 61, pp.11-23.
Saunders, P., 2017. Housing costs, poverty and inequality in Australia. Housing studies, 32(6),
pp.742-757.
Online
A Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom in 2019. 2020. [ONLINE]. Available
through< https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/minimum-income-standard-uk-2019>
8