definition of the poverty line?

bonnie_2

we are actually £38 a week worse of working, so are we in poverty.My husband takes home £964 a month with 3 kids.

Rebekka_2

bonnie wrote:

we are actually £38 a week worse of working, so are we in poverty.My husband takes home £964 a month with 3 kids.

If that is your only income then you are entitled to WTC and CTC of at least £100 per week

https://www.entitledto.com

welshcakes

According to a Mirror newspaper article in October,

"The government calculates poverty as a family of four surviving on an income of £210 from which living costs need to be paid.

But the ECPC (End Child Poverty Campaign) says that figure misses by a mile and it calculates that any couple with two young children and an income of £295 - after housing costs are paid - falls into the poverty trap."

"ALMOST 10 per cent of single cannot afford to buy more than one pair of shoes for their children.


THERE are currently 3.4 million children in poverty, 27 per cent of all British children.


THE UK has the fourth highest level of child poverty of all 25 European Union countries.


FOR the first time, children are more likely to live in poverty than the elderly.


AROUND five per cent of all children live in severe poverty.


A SINGLE parent with two children aged 5 and 11 needs £205 a week to rise above the poverty line.


THE highest concentration of child poverty is in London where 41 per cent of children live in poverty."

Rebekka_2

But all families now are entitled to tax credits, i have just put that figure into entitledto.com and for those figures you would be entitled to an extra 100 per week, so realistically there shouldn't be families living below that figure anyhow

krisskross

welshcakes wrote:

But the ECPC (End Child Poverty Campaign) says that figure misses by a mile and it calculates that any couple with two young children and an income of £295 - after housing costs are paid - falls into the poverty trap."
"

It doesn't say the frequency of the required £295. Surely no one is suggesting that a small family needs this amount of money AFTER housing costs per week?

filigree_2

Unfortunately Tax Credits don't take housing costs into account, unless you are on a very low income and qualify for Housing Benefit. We have a very small mortgage payment and plenty of spare income, but another family paying private rent would be far worse off.

There was a documentary a few years back where they took lots of factors into account, including housing costs and other essential expenses, taking into account the number of people in the household. That gave a more accurate picture than just looking at the net income.

Rebekka_2

The figures i put in, where £300 wage and and that got £100 per week in tax credits, nothing to do with rent, so a family of two adults and two children shouldnt be living on less that £400 per week now by my standards even if your rent/mortgage is £200 per week that still leaves £200 per week to live in

P.s i did it again and put in rent of 100 and that got £18 housing benefit

zoezoe_3

Rebekka wrote:

But all families now are entitled to tax credits, i have just put that figure into entitledto.com and for those figures you would be entitled to an extra 100 per week, so realistically there shouldn't be families living below that figure anyhow

Tax credits dont claim to bring all people above the poverty line. And think about it, if you moved everybody above the poverty line it would just go up !

The statistical definition of poverty is very different from the real definition. In this country there might be a high level of child poverty in the statistical sence but how many starving kids are there walking around with no shoes ?

Rebekka_2

zoezoe wrote:

Tax credits dont claim to bring all people above the poverty line. And think about it, if you moved everybody above the poverty line it would just go up !

The statistical definition of poverty is very different from the real definition. In this country there might be a high level of child poverty in the statistical sence but how many starving kids are there walking around with no shoes ?

You can give some £1000 per week doesnt mean they will provide for their children

Mrs_pbradley936

zoezoe wrote:

The statistical definition of poverty is very different from the real definition. In this country there might be a high level of child poverty in the statistical sence but how many starving kids are there walking around with no shoes ?

David Cameron was on about this last week and it now seems to be measured by whether or not you can afford what most people take for granted. The interveiwer said "Even if that is a flat screen TV and holidays in Florida?" I don't think he got a sensible answer!

Seriously though we have moved on from shoes and food being the markers of affluence and we all have different priorities when it comes to what we consider to be important.