Destitution in the UK:
Research for Joseph Rowntree
Foundation
Suzanne Fitzpatrick, Glen Bramley, Filip Sosenko
Seminar – March 2017
Context and Research Questions
• There is a widespread perception that destitution is increasing in the UK,
but evidence on the causes, scale, trends, distribution and experience is
difficult to come by.
• Joseph Rowntree Foundation commissioned I-SPHERE to find out:
 How should 'destitution' be defined in the contemporary UK context?
 How much destitution is there in the UK (in 2015)?
 Who is affected by it?
 What are the main pathways into and out of destitution?
 What are the experiences and impacts for those directly affected?
• Interim Report - https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/destitution-uk-interimreport
• Final Report – https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/destitution-uk
Destitution in UK
Methods
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.


Literature review
Consultation with 50 expert key informants
Omnibus Survey to test public opinion on the definition of
destitution
Analysis of existing statistical datasets
In-depth case studies in ten locations:
one week ‘Census Survey’ of users of a representative set of
voluntary sector services providing ‘crisis’ help
in-depth interviews with 80 destitute Census respondents
(selected to reflect overall destitute profile )
Destitution in the UK
(1) Literature Review and
(2) Expert Consultation
• Most current evidence relates to asylum seekers and refugees
(especially refused asylum seekers); some information available on
(other) NRPF migrant groups
• Remarkably little reference to destitution amongst UK nationals in
mainstream poverty and homelessness literature – now changing in
context of the rise of foodbanks and (disputed) role of welfare reform,
delays and sanctions
• No definition consistently employed – we developed a draft definition
but many areas of disagreement amongst experts e.g. on duration. So
tested out our definition with general public…
Destitution in the the UK
(3) Omnibus Survey
(of 2000 UK Adults)
• Strong support for six core essentials: shelter (96%), food
(89%), heating (86%), clothing (86%), lighting (76%), basic
toiletries (75%)
• Clear steer on time parameters
• Destitute if reliant on charity, forced labour, abusive
relationships, friends, crime – more mixed results on
parents and payday loans
• Income levels required to avoid destitution – how much
money to keep a household like your’s out of destitution?
Destitution in the UK
Final Definition of Destitution
People are destitute if they lack two or more of following because cannot afford
them:
• Shelter (slept rough for one or more nights)
• Food (fewer than two meals a day for two or more days)
• Heating their home (have been unable to do this for five or more days)
• Lighting their home (have been unable to do this for five or more days)
• Clothing and footwear (appropriate for weather)
• Basic toiletries (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush)
People are also destitute if their income is so low that they are unable to
purchase these essentials for themselves (based on combination of what
poorest spend on these 6 essentials and what public said they needed).
Destitution in UK
(4) Existing Statistical Datasets
 No existing datasets measure destitution directly but enable us
to:
 investigate scale and patterns of ‘severe poverty’ (so high risk
of destitution)
 make predictions of likely scale of destitution, so we can
compare to our ‘Census Survey’ results (see below) = enables
us to ‘scale up’ from case study areas to national totals
Destitution in UK
Secondary Indicators Available for all Local Authority
Areas
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mainly census and IMD indicators used to generate synthetic
prediction of severe poverty rates (calibrated on PSE and UKHLS)
Census measures of recent migrants from selected regions
Home Office Asylum numbers supported
Former Social Fund loans for living expenses (2011)
Persons subject to benefit sanctions
Numbers losing selected benefits
Discretionary Housing Payments related to bedroom tax, caps, etc
Past estimates of migrant overstayers
CAB migrant or benefit issues
Hard Edges study estimates of complex needs based on
Supporting People, Offender Assessment and Drug Treatment
LA homeless returns
Reported shoplifting crime
LA Children in Need returns (abuse and neglect)
Destitution in UK
(5) Census Survey
• Selected 10 local authority areas across UK representing range
of contexts, informed by secondary data
• Recruited a ‘local coordinator’ in each area, working with 1 of
research team
• Mapped all crisis services ‘in scope’, classified by 4 types
(advice, food, homeless & complex needs, migrants) and
estimated size (caseload)
• Sampled 6-8 services – random stratified by type & size
• Undertook 1-week ‘census’ of service users with selfcompletion questionnaire – assisting where necessary
• Total of 2009 forms completed from 63 agencies in 10 areas
giving response rate of 60% of estimated clients in week
Destitution in UK
Numbers Destitute in Case Study Areas
Households
Glasgow
Bournemouth
Ealing
Fife
Newham
Nottingham
Peterborough
Swansea
Wiltshire x1.8
Belfast
Total Case Study
Areas GB
•
Migrant
1,090
212
531
46
1,343
461
435
173
148
315
Destitute
Complex
Other Destitute
LWF
total (with
Needs
UK
total
addn
LWF)
923 1,057
3,070
3,224
6,294
1,091
392
1,695
10
1,705
122
92
745
317
1,062
794
624
1,464
448
1,912
520
219
2,082
289
2,371
792
264
1,517
281
1,798
184
21
640
686
1,326
529
58
760
182
942
913
193
1,253
0
1,253
444
542
1,301
0
1,301
4,439
5,868
2,920
Weekly totals from Census Survey
Destitution in UK
13,226
5,437
18,663
Top-down Meets Bottom-up
• Comparison of numbers from our ‘census survey’ with numbers
estimated from secondary data, by main category and case study
area
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
LWF
3,000
OthUK
SMD
2,000
Migrant
1,000
0
-1,000
Destitution in UK
National Numbers
• The national (UK) total is around 185,000 households destitute in a
typical week in early 2015
• Over a whole year, we currently estimate the numbers of
households experiencing destitution in the UK at 670,000
(1,250,000 persons of whom 310,000 are children)
• These are conservative, based on a strict application of our
definition and focused exclusively on those cases that come to the
attention of voluntary sector crisis services.
• Destitute households which do not make contact with any crisis
services, or make contact with statutory services only, are not
included (from Local Welfare Fund analysis we know latter group
at least is likely to be substantial)
Destitution in UK
Destitution Rate
Note concentration in urban centres
and declining industry/mining areas
Also some coastal towns
•
•
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
LA Name
Middlesbrough
Combined
3.90
Migrant
1.45
Complex
1.63
Other UK
0.83
Newham
3.88
2.04
1.01
0.83
Coventry
3.85
1.20
2.01
0.63
Glasgow City
3.80
1.36
1.63
0.81
Nottingham
3.74
1.33
1.73
0.67
Manchester
3.62
1.31
1.55
0.76
Haringey
3.47
1.74
1.08
0.65
Liverpool
3.40
1.04
1.65
0.71
Barking and Dagenham
3.25
1.13
1.22
0.90
Leicester
3.22
1.56
1.12
0.53
3.21
0.74
1.72
0.75
Kingston upon Hull, City
of
Southwark
3.19
1.33
1.16
0.70
Ealing
3.14
1.54
0.99
0.61
Westminster
3.11
1.44
1.10
0.57
Derby
3.02
0.88
1.56
0.57
Bolton
3.02
1.18
1.25
0.59
Rochdale
3.00
1.04
1.30
0.65
Hackney
2.99
1.01
1.15
0.84
Waltham Forest
2.97
1.41
0.76
0.80
Blackpool
2.96
0.14
2.13
0.70
Peterborough
2.96
0.96
1.36
0.64
Destitution in UK
Demographic Profile
• Single men at greatest risk of
destitution (severe poverty
concentrated amongst lone
parents)
• Few are in work (5%)
Destitution in UK
Age and migrant background
35.0%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
Destitute
Sev Pov
15.0%
All UK hhd
10.0%
• Young much more vulnerable to
destitution, which is extremely
rare among post-retirement age
5.0%
• Some people born overseas face
relatively high risk (from ‘EU’, Mid
East, Africa)
Table 3.2: Immigration Status of Destitute Migrants
0.0%
< 25
25-34
35-44
Immigration category
45-54
55-64
65+
% of all
%
of
asylum
Has ever sought asylum
38%
of which:
Yes - currently awaiting decision
41%
Yes – application failed
9%
Yes – leave to remain
27%
Yes - refugee status
9%
Yes - don't know/unclear status
13%
EEA migrant
33%
Other migrant (non-EEA, non-asylum)
29%
•
Destitution in UK
Total
100%
Source: Census survey, national-annual weighted, 2015
• But majority of destitute are UK
born (79% of annual estimate)
• Asylum seekers are particularly
vulnerable to destitution, but they
are a minority within a minority
Routes in to Destitution
Migrant (%)
Complex
Need (%)
Other UK (%)
All
destitute (%)
Experienced in last 12 months
Getting behind on bills
31
56
73
57
Serious debt
23
Any financial problem
43
57
33
75
60
Benefit delays
25
45
42
40
Benefit sanctions
21
34
31
30
Any benefit problem
36
57
53
51
Serious health problems
24
32
29
29
Parents/ family rel. breakdown
15
40
14
25
Divorce or separation
16
18
10
14
Domestic violence
9
18
4
11
Any relationship problem
28
53
22
36
Being evicted
13
26
16
19
Losing a job
20
13
16
16
Reduced hours or pay cut
7
3
8
6
Any job problem
•
27
36
23
15
21
19
Coming to the UK to live
16
1
1
4
None of these
11
7
7
8
Destitution in UK
Qualitative Routes In
• Complex – interacting factors that undermined ability of
those on low incomes to meet essential needs
• Usually not one-off – but repeated or sustained.
• Main ‘triggers’:
 problem debt and arrears: public authorities and
utilities, not ‘consumer credit’
 benefit issues: delays, levels and sanctions
 additional expenditure associated with health
 high living costs (housing and energy)
 specific issues for migrants
Destitution in the UK
Deprivations
• The most common essentials that
destitute people go without are food
and clothes
• The least common is lighting (but note
some staying in hostels, etc.)
• Sleeping rough very common for
migrants and complex needs groups
• ‘Other UK’ group much more likely to
go without heating (most likely to be
living in own accommodation; tend to
give higher priority to
lighting/electricity)
• More similarities than differences
between groups
Destitution in the UK
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Migrants
Complex Needs
Other UK
All Destit
Coping Strategies
90.0%
80.0%




70.0%
Self-help (especially
economising) to the fore:
widespread nature of going
without food
Migrants less likely to receive
money from benefits or parents,
and less likely to get in-kind
support from most sources; 17%
migrants received no money last
month
23% complex needs group
begged in last month
LWF/SWF helped a third of all
groups with in kind resources
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
Migrants
30.0%
Complex Needs
20.0%
Other UK
10.0%
All Destit
0.0%
90.0%
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
Migrants
30.0%
Complex Needs
20.0%
Other UK
10.0%
Total
0.0%
Destitution in UK
Coping Strategies: Charities
Having to seek material help from charities was routinely described as
‘demeaning’, ‘degrading’ and ‘disgusting’ , even though staff and
volunteers acted kindly:
“...obviously nobody likes to be in that sort of position, but when you're
desperate you just have to put that all to the back of your mind..” (UK-born)
“I did feel a real shame, but I don’t really want to steal” (Migrant)
“They have the utmost respect, they're really respectful, really kind... They
don't say, 'God loves you' and all this, they don't say anything like that.”
(UK-born)
Destitution in UK
Coping Strategies: Family and Friends
Also humiliated by relying on family/friends:
• “You shouldn't have to go around asking friends and family for anything really. It's
totally embarrassing.” (UK born)
Who often have little to spare themselves:
• “If I just beg one time I cannot beg a second time. You know? People can only – I
don't know what their problems are so they make a sacrifice for me.” (Migrant)
And those with complex needs often had no-one to turn to in any case:
• “The only support network I have is, like I said, my key worker.” (UK born)
Destitution in UK
Routes Out
 Most were still destitute, so discussion was mainly about potential
routes out
• UK born: paid work seen as ‘ideal’ pathway out but often health
problems and other barriers. Resolving benefit issues and reducing
high housing costs featured prominently
• Migrants:
 Strong focus on employment, education, training and volunteering
 But legal status a fundamental barrier
“If I got refugee status I can support my family, try to do something better for
myself […] find a job, pay tax and be everything like normal people, you know
what I mean?”
Destitution in UK
Next Steps
• Findings informed JRF work on Anti-Poverty Strategy (‘Solve UK
Poverty’)
• Academic publications: PSE book (Glen); quantitative/geographical
(Glen); definitional/qualitative (Suzanne); foodbanks (Filip Sosenko)
• Destitution in the UK 2017:
 repeats census survey – 16 areas (extra case study areas in
‘middle England’); Local Welfare Funds; Kantar Public (enhanced
cognitive testing; extra interviewer resources)
 40 in-depth interviews
• Parallel discussion about ONS initiative to improve
measurement/profiling of population not covered by conventional
household surveys
Destitution in UK