Destitution affects over 1 million people in UK

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation published a study on the effects of destitution in the UK.

In 2016, 1.25 million people in the UK were destitute. This includes 312,000 children.

St Basils formed part of the advisory group for this important national study.  St Basils is an organisation that works with young homeless people at risk of destitution.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, JRF, is an independent social change organisation working to solve UK poverty through research, policy, collaboration and practical solutions.

Their research concludes single young people on less than £70 a week are destitute.

Defining Destitution.

Some of the key findings of the report are summarised below.

The definition JRF used in their research was developed through interviews with key experts. Endorsed by the public in a survey of 2,000 adults across the UK. It encompasses people who cannot afford to buy the essentials to eat, stay warm and dry, and keep clean.  

Specifically, people are destitute if:

They, or their children, have lacked two or more of these six essentials over the past month. Because they cannot afford them.

Shelter – slept rough for one or more nights.

Food – have had fewer than 2 meals a day for 2 or more days.

Heating – unable to heat their homes for 5 days or more.

Lighting – not being able to light their homes for 5 or more days.

Clothing and Footwear – Having the necessary clothes appropriate for the weather.

Basics – Such as toiletries, ie, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush.

Scale of Destitution. Distribution and Trends.

JRF estimate that there were 184,500 destitute households in contact with voluntary sector crisis services in a typical week in the UK in 2015.

This annual estimate is subject to additional provisos. But that is 668,000 households, containing 1,252,000 people, of whom 312,000 were children, who were destitute and in contact with these services at some point during 2015.

Like poverty more broadly, destitution is geographically clustered in former industrial areas. Largely in the north of England and in the other UK countries. And in some London boroughs and seaside towns.

We are not able to trace trends in destitution over time but a number of large-scale surveys show a rise in severe poverty since 2007. Implying a rise in the risk of destitution. Some measures of associated factors such as rough sleeping have also risen significantly.

Routes into Destitution.

There is no single cause of destitution. A number of interacting factors undermine the ability of people living on extremely modest resources to meet their essential needs.

Among the UK-other (not migrant and without complex needs) destitute group, common immediate causes of destitution included unsustainable debt repayments. Usually to public authorities, high living costs (especially for housing and energy), and benefit delays and sanctions. Disability and ill health were important factors. Meeting additional costs, problems with benefits and difficulty accessing and keeping work contributed to many people’s situations.

The UK-complex needs group tended to have long-term health problems and traumatic backgrounds. Benefit delays and sanctions often tipped them from just about meeting their basic needs to not doing so. While some complex needs interviewees prioritised drugs and alcohol over essential items, most had an income so low that they would have been destitute regardless of their spending choices.

Experiences and Impacts.

76% of destitute service users in JRF’s national study reported going without food.
71%were lacking clothes and/or shoes suitable for the weather
63% were lacking basic toiletries as defined above
56% had been unable to heat their home
30% have been unable to light their home

A large proportion of both the migrant (37 %) and UK-complex needs groups (41%) had recently slept rough. Destitute parents emphasised that they put their children’s needs ahead of their own. Although they were not able to interview children themselves. However service-users also frequently discussed the negative effects of destitution on parent–child relationships.

Other key themes included the additional necessities ill-health created for many destitute households. And the importance of being able to cover transport costs in circumstances where walking is not always a viable option.

The sustained or cyclical nature of destitution frequently took a toll on people’s mental health, and also sometimes their physical health. Social isolation was very often reported. Associated with the shame engendered by destitution, as well as by an inability to pay for normal social activities.

Coping strategies. Interviewees reported a wide range of ‘self-help’ strategies in an effort to manage or stave off destitution. This often included radical economising such as skipping meals to afford other essentials, or to ensure that children did not go without.

Routes out of Destitution.

For the minority of interviewees who had managed to move out of destitution, the critical factor was usually the ending of a benefit sanction or delay. Or a change in benefit eligibility status, including the resolution of problems with disability related benefits. But cheaper housing, paying off debts, becoming employed, receiving support to address complex needs, or even the warmer weather reducing energy costs, were also discussed.

Almost all were explicit about how ‘demeaning’ and ‘degrading’ they found it to have to seek help with basic material needs from charitable organisations, despite the kindness they encountered from staff and volunteers.

What this research means for St. Basils.

Crucially the study concludes that single young people living alone on incomes of less than £70 a week (excluding housing costs) are unable to feed, clothe, keep themselves warm and maintain personal hygiene, without the assistance of others. This meets the definition of destitution as outlined within the report. 

Destitute parents emphasised that they put their children’s needs ahead of their own (although they were not able to interview children themselves). However service-users also frequently discussed the negative effects of destitution on parent–child relationships.

This is a concern for us here at St Basils as family and relationship breakdown is still the biggest cause of youth homelessness. Our own research has long recognised that where economic factors increase the pressures on families, breakdown is more likely to occur. 

Almost all the service users found it demeaning to ask for help and identified employment as one of the best strategies for finding their way out of destitution. This is why St Basils aims to empower young people by teaching them the skills they need to be independent and access education, work and training. All our own research and feedback from our young people suggests that is absolutely crucial in boosting their self-esteem and giving them the best chance of finding a way out of the poverty and the homelessness ‘trap’. 

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