New figures have highlighted that 14 million people live in poverty in the UK – over one in five of the population.
This is made up of eight million working-age adults, four million children and 1.9 million pensioners. 8 million live in families where at least one person is in work.
The figures show an additional 700,000 people in the UK are in poverty compared to four years ago.
According to UK Poverty 2017 figures released by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), over the last 20 years the UK has dramatically reduced poverty among people who had traditionally been most at risk – pensioners and certain types of families with children.
But that progress is beginning to unravel; poverty rates for both groups have started to rise again.
The analysis highlights that the three factors which have led to a fall in poverty and are now under question; state support for many of those on low incomes is falling in real terms, rents are increasing, and rising employment is no longer reducing poverty.
As a result, JRF is calling for a national mission to transform the prospects of millions of people living in poverty in the UK.
'Real hardship' in rural areas
Rural areas also face a serious problem with poverty that is frequently overlooked, with almost one in seven (15%) rural households living in relative poverty after housing costs are taken into account, according to a report published earlier this year by the Local Government Association (LGA) and Public Health England (PHE).
The general public often think that rural areas are inhabited by wealthy people. The report warns that there is in fact "real hardship" in some rural areas, with the elderly facing isolation and the inability to access basic services.
The figures has provoked a strong reaction from the agricultural sector, where rural poverty is a serious issue.
Farmers' Union of Wales President Glyn Roberts said Brexit could leave rural areas in Wales facing levels of poverty not seen since the 1930s.
Emyr Jones, the union's ex-President, said: “We all share huge frustrations with the EU, but the FUW remains convinced that leaving the common market or opting out of the CAP following a renegotiation of powers would be devastating for agriculture and our rural communities.
“If we were to lose our export markets and CAP funding it is difficult to imagine how our agricultural sectors and rural communities would avoid being plunged into abject poverty,” he added.
