The definition of Poverty in the UK
Poverty can be defined and measured in various ways.
The most commonly used approach is relative income poverty. Each household’s income, adjusted for family size, is compared to median income. (The median is the “middle” income: half of people have more than the median and half have less.)
Those with less than 60 per cent of median income are classified as poor. This ‘poverty line’ is the agreed international measure used throughout the European Union.
http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/poverty-definitions.pdf
The poverty line in the UK is defined as a household income below 60% of the average. This threshold is currently around £195 a week for a lone parent with two children. Using this definition there are over 3 million children living in poverty.
Shockingly almost half of these children (1.4 million) live in families with a household income far below this – an average of £124 per week for one adult and two children.
At least half of the children living in poverty have a parent who works, showing that low paid work is just as likely to cause financial hardship as reliance on benefits.
http://www.family-action.org.uk/section.aspx?id=691
If the above is the official definition and measure of poverty then there can never be an end to it. By definition, there will also be a median and there will always be a cluster of people whose income is less than 60% of that median.
Question: whilst I would never deny anybody else the opportunity to have children, if you're a low earner and you can't afford to fund your own family, is it really the responsibility of the State (aka the taxpayer) to meet that bill? Difficult one.
