More than one and a half million people – including 365,000 children – were destitute in the UK last year, according to new research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).
A study published today by the think tank and conducted by the Heriot-Watt University reveals 1.55 million people were in destitution at some point in 2017.
It defines being destitute as going without two or more of the following essentials – shelter, food, heating, lighting, clothing and basic toiletries.
Food was cited as the most commonly-lacked item, with 62% within the group surveyed reporting that they had gone without over the past month.
Nearly half (47%) had lacked basic toiletries, with 46% lacking suitable clothing and 42% having to go without heating.
One in five people who were destitute reported lacking lighting at home, and 16% had recently slept rough. Nearly half of all destitute households reported lacking three or more of these essentials in the month before they were surveyed.
And the report identifies several social security policies and practice can in many cases directly lead to destitution ‘by design’ – from gaps, flaws and choices within the social security system – meaning that people are being left without support when they most need it.
‘Many of us rely on public services such as social security when hit with unexpected circumstances like job loss, relationship breakdown or ill health,’ said JRF chief executive, Campbell Robb.
‘Yet actions by government, local authorities and utility companies are leading to “destitution by design”: forcing people into a corner when they are penniless and have nowhere to turn. This is shameful,’ he added.
‘Social security should be an anchor holding people steady against powerful currents such as rising costs, insecure housing and jobs, and low pay, but people are instead becoming destitute with no clear way out.
‘To be destitute doesn’t just mean getting by on very little, it’s losing the ability to keep a roof over your head, eat often enough, or afford warm clothes when it’s cold. You can’t keep yourself clean or put the lights on. This shouldn’t happen to anybody, let alone over one and a half million people in the UK,’ added Mr Robb.
‘It doesn’t have to be this way. The reduction in benefit sanction rates has meant that some welcome headway has been made, but there is a real risk that once Universal Credit is embedded across the country, more people could again be at risk unless we make changes.
‘We all want to live in a society where we protect each other from harm, and we need to put things right to protect people from this degrading experience. We can start by redesigning our social security system so that it provides the basic protection people need.’
The lead author of the research, Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick of Heriot-Watt University, added: ‘While no-one should ever have to be destitute, we estimate that levels have declined by around a quarter since 2015. This is good news. It’s likely that this has been driven by a decline in benefit sanction rates and falling unemployment and immigration.
‘However, the apparent higher levels of sanctions in Universal Credit are a sharp warning that destitution could increase again as the new benefit expands in the coming years. Rebooting and improving the funding for local welfare assistance in England is one element of a package to provide the crisis support that people in destitution need.’