Researchers at Essex University have provided a detailed analysis of the near-doubling of average UK household income over the 40 years up to the start of the global recession in 2008.
A new review of research on families living on a low income finds that the recent recession has generated additional burdens for parents in these circumstances, including increased time pressures, a decline in nutrition, and higher stress levels. The review, Parenting on a Low Income, conducted by About Families, finds that women in particular bear the burden of coping.
The government’s austerity measures and rising inflation are eating into the budgets of low income families, according to the charity Family Action. The report shows that among families helped by the charity, fuel and food costs were placing family budgets under intense pressure, leaving nothing for parents to save for their children’s future, or for fun activities other children could enjoy such as a school disco.
The spending power of the poorest has fallen by 10 per cent over the last decade and will continue to fall as the basic cost of living continues to rise, according to research commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and reported in The Guardian.
About seven million of Britain’s poorest people will see their spending power fall by a tenth over the next decade because the prices of essentials such as food, fuel and clothing are rising much faster than inflation, according to the research.
The research shows that these households have already seen their spending power reduced by about 10 per cent in the past 10 years. If prices trends continue, they will be nearly a fifth worse off by 2012 than they were in 2000.
See the full report at The Guardian website.