Poverty in the UK & Local Areas (From Hounslow And Brentford Times)

Poverty in the UK & Local Areas

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By Community Correspondent Irina Harutunyan

According to Oxfam.org.uk nearly 13 million people live in poverty in the UK, which makes up 1 in 5 of the population, showing just how widespread poverty has become. When interviewed, people living in poverty have explained that “It is only in part about having no money. It is also about being isolated, unsupported, uneducated and unwanted.” Is this right? 3.8 million children live in poverty in the UK; this is calculated through 60% of medium income after housing costs. However, poverty cannot be explained as the work of a few irresponsible or inadequate individuals. It is fuelled by a range of factors including family breakdown, poor education et cetera.

London has the highest rates of poverty in the UK, whilst the UK has the highest rate of poverty out of 21 EU countries. Only 6 of 27 EU countries have a higher rate than the UK; 2.2 million pensioners in the UK are living in poverty and 7.2 million living in poverty are working age adults, women are the majority in these poorest groups.

It may surprise most of you to know that your borough of Hounslow has above-average levels of deprivation in comparison to other London boroughs. It is also ranked 19th most deprived borough in London and has the 18th highest rate of child poverty (this is out of 32 boroughs in the capital). Some of the significant drivers of deprivation in this borough are problems such as crime, health and housing. Hounslow’s children are living in or at the brink of poverty. A huge 45 per cent of children in the borough live with out of work families or families with low incomes, and in Hanworth, Isleworth, Brentford, Heston, Feltham North, and Cranford that figure is more than half, according to the Campaign to End Child Poverty.

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