Tell me more about the poverty line of £288 p.w.

[grumpyvamps]

Yesterday's Times said this was the poverty line (2 adults and 2 dcs) after housing and tax costs. Does this mean what's left for food, petrol, insurance etc? After rent and utilities?

sorry link didn't work

www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/185935128x.pdf

That's interesting reading, lenak. Thanks for the link. It's interesting to know how many people lack necessities.
We lack: Heating to warm living areas of the home (sometimes),Two meals a day, Medicines prescribed by doctor, Fresh fruit and vegetables daily, warm, waterproof coat, eplace or repair broken electrical goods (no microwave and freecycle was unable to help this time), Visits to friends or family, Money to keep home in a decent state
of decoration , Attending weddings, funerals, Insurance of contents of dwelling, hobby or leisure activity.
But I still don't think we're anywhere near as badly off as many, many people.

OMG the list was continued!
We also lack: Regular savings (of £10 per month), Two pairs of all-weather shoes, A small amount of money to spend
on self weekly not on family, Roast joint/vegetarian equivalent once a week, Holiday away from home once a year.

I fail to see how a holiday is a necessity!!!

And new, fitted shoes. Surely second hand shoes, or new but not fitted shoes, are a necessity, but not new fitted ones.

yeah - holidays are on the borderline - only 55% thought they were a necessity so it would have been weighted quite low.

The fitted shoes are on the children's list and I'm guessing are seen as a necessity due to the long term damage that ill-fitting shoes can cause to kids feet.

Exactly Riven, that's why I don't have friends around!

does she have playdates at your place Riven?

Riven - I think the point is that you may not have any friends as you are unable to afford to go out and meet people due to poverty.

Poverty is a complex issue. You have absolute poverty (basically poverty defined on global scale), and relative poverty - which isn't just about money

\link{http://www.poverty.org.uk/summary/social%20exclusion.shtml\this website} explains it quite well.

Although I once did find a section - i'm sure it was UN(?) that explained it even better.

"Well being" depends on social,physical and emotional needs all being met, and it is frequently those in relative (and absolute poverty that don't achieve this.

Riven I am slowly giving up playdates. Seem to have come to my senses. I just can't get my head round this after housing costs, because £288 seems a lot, but once you take food, petrol, insurances, etc out it leaves very little for clothes or treats.

They family probably got the village hall really cheap, Riven.

Now, I would say no being able to afford to go to parties does put you in under the poverty line. (Not trying to make you feel bad Riven)

Right, I've just done the maths,and yes, we need 288 pw after mortgage to survive. So I would agree with the times.

Very good point, Riven.

It's the social exclusion that is the point - poverty is not just monetary.

Remember the survey is called the Poverty AND Social Exclusion survey so takes in what people deem necessary for social inclusion.

Also remember it is not the researchers that came up with the list, it was the people being surveyed.

WRT the £288 thing it is a poor measure of Poverty just because of the lack of understanding around it - I was reading an article the other day (can't find the damn thing now) that said that Iain Duncan Smith and another top MP thought it was a bad measure because as people earned more, the poverty line would just shift upwards . That is because they are confusing mean average with median average (as happened earlier on this thread). If the politicians responsible for benefits reform don't understand the difference between mean and median what chance to the public at large have.

Riven I read your thread with that excellent piece of writing your OH did. I've been meaning to catch up with how it went at the hospital meeting you had - did you get to see the chief exec? If you updated on a thread can you point me in the right direction?

General consternation because they are utterly embarrassed that their hospital could treat your DD and DH like that or because they think it was exaggerated?

I hope they get in touch soon with a big fat apology and more importantly sort out their bloomin procedures for next time.