*Poverty* Do you agree

[geekone]

BBC Scotland say 1-4 children in Scotland live in poverty, which is an aweful statistic and really sad. However they also state "According to the group's most recent figures, a two-parent family with two children of school age would be defined as being in poverty if they are living on less than £413 a week after housing costs."

This seems like a lot of money to me £1652 after housing costs? I don't think that's poverty? In London maybe but Scotland?

I may be wrong and I am happy to stand corrected but wanted to know what you all think.

I always had "poverty" as being well below "poor" but obviously I'm wrong.

£413 is easily do-able.

I will be very comfortable living on £413 a week when retired.

That said the level is £304 for a single parent after housing costs which would mean the median household income for a single parent is £26k (after housing costs? After tax?)

Could it be a misquote for £413 a month? That sounds more like poverty.

Fuck me. I (me and 2 children) have £107 per week after housing costs. I actually save as much as I can, so it could be £157, but I choose for it not to be. I also get full council tax rebate, so if you give it a cash value £35 per week (now £192 per week). I don't feel that badly off, poor but not dreadful - we're still going on holiday camping this year. We still go out for the day, everyone is well clothed and I can afford the kids wierd food whims.

I've never considered us to love in poverty. I feel a bit crap now. And that's under half their defined poverty level.

£413 a week is sod all for a family of 4 - at least in the south east!
This would include all food, bills (less mortgage but still), activities - basically having a life, car maintence and repairs, holidays, clothes, toiletries, insurance, birthday/Xmas presents for friends and family, house and appliance maintaince etc.
I would say you could do it on £1000 a week but would still need to be careful. We are talking London/SE though.

In this case I have never (as a child, a teenager, married with a family) not lived in poverty.

How does that explain thousands of people having to use foodbanks just to survive? I don’t believe it, sounds like another figure to make the politicians think the poor are liars.

We have way less than that and I live in a high cost area.

This explains the disadvantages low income households will face, and explains the figures more fully :

www.cpag.org.uk/scotland/child-poverty-facts-and-figures

Is housing costs rent/mortgage and council tax? it sound like a fairly average amount if it is, not poverty but not rich, just average amount for family.

Children are considered to be living in poverty if they live in households with less than 60% of median household income. This is the key measure used by UK and Scottish Government.

This measure is easily trackable - for example - it is published at
www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/03/3017/3 . I haven't seen the original story, but it most definitely isn't using the accepted measure of poverty. I suspect it is the group that asked people what they thought people should have and then costed that out as a measure of a living wage. There's advantages to this approach, but it does tend to raise "poverty" levels.

It absolutely is using the accepted measure of child poverty. This is the measure used by the UK government. Child poverty is measured in a specific way because of the impact of low income on children.

Whatever way you spin it, no one on less than 60% of median income is well off.

£413 a week is a lot of money. It is more than I get in a month.

How do you pay rent, bills, or buy food with that?

In that case I have been living in poverty all my life!
As a lone parent of 2 my disposable income after housing was never more than £200
Now they’re adults and due to a large mortgage I would still dream of having £400 a week left to cover bills food etc

£1652 to live on a month..blimey someone posted about bills!!
We pay on average :
Gas & Electric £80
Tv. £33.00
C tax £133.00
Water bill £32.00
Mortgage £600.00
Travel £500
Food £360
Those prices are for down south! I'm thinking the cost of living is much cheaper in Scotland! And we live quite comfortably.

I am with you, OP. I think it is s good amount of money. DH and I both work, we have 2 DC, we have s mortgage and s car. we have no luxuries such as holidays or meals out etc but I would not consider as poor at all. And our disposable income after housing is significantly less then £400.

Either BBC Scotland haven’t explained properly or you have missed it out. The £413 figure is for 2 adults and 3 children. For 2 adults and 2 children it’s £393 per week. For a single parent with two children it’s £291. After housing costs.

That’s the definition of the poverty line in Scotland. Because that’s what they want to bring people above.

£413 is the cut off point for membership of the group ... so amost everyone in the group will be living on less than that. The figures for absolute poverty are running at more like 1 in 5, I think.

Does housing costs include council tax as sometimes when you fill in surveys, council tax is classed as housing costs

It says £1692 after housing costs, not anything else.

I live on central belt Scotland and if I deducted my bills, phone, tv, internet, food, after school club, car, petrol etc I'd have £200 a month left.

Now £200 a month isn't absolute poverty no, but it certainly doesn't allow for rainy day savings, replacing clothes all too often, days out with the kids etc.

Do people not understand mathematics?

If the "poverty line" is linked to median income, then it will always be there and there will ALWAYS be someone below it. There had to be. It is a mathematical impossibility for there to be no one there.

It's like schools, they all must be "above average" which again is impossible.

Sounds like classic SNP spin.

And that's just my car, we'd have to give up DPs.

In total our bills, minus housing, are £1800 a month. Yes some are things you'd cut back on if you lived in poverty (sky tv, piano lessons etc) but that would still take us to £1700.

I live in one of the mist deprived councils in Scotland, but not area.

It’s not the figures put out by the Scottish government though, so hardly SNP spin. It’s a small part of the figures put out which unsurprisingly has been twisted by the BBC.