A record 9.3 million people, including 3 million children, live in extreme poverty in Britain, struggling to feed themselves and meet their basic needs, according to the latest report by a non-governmental organization released today.
A total of 14% of people living in Britain were facing hunger and deprivation at the end of March 2023, around one million more people than five years ago, according to research by the Trussell Trust (“The Cost of Hunger and Hardship“), a charity which runs a large network of banks of food throughout the country.
This phenomenon has a particular impact on children, 20% of whom are in this situation, as are a third of single-parent families and 28% of people from black minority backgrounds.
More than 50% of these 9.3 million people also live in a family where one member suffers from a disability, underlines the Trussell Trust, which considers households whose available resources are, for example, £152 ( €181) per week for a single person, and £204 (€243) per week for an adult with one child.
Aggravation
According to the Trussell Trust, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis that hit the country from 2022 due to the effects of the war in Ukraine partly explain the worsening situation.
The NGO therefore reports that it distributed a record 3.1 million food packages between April 2023 and March 2024, double the number compared to five years earlier.
But it also refers to the “weaknesses” of the social security system, particularly in the operation of Universal Credit, the basic benefit given to households with little or no income, which was introduced by the Conservative government in 2013.
Against these numbers, the NGO is calling on the Labor government to take steps to improve the welfare system, notably by setting a minimum “guaranteed” income level.
If nothing changes, the number of people struggling to feed themselves and living in hardship will increase.
