A snapshot of poverty in Winter 2020

Poverty
ReportsResourcesDecember 16th, 2020

Devastating impact of Covid 19 on Wales’ poorest households laid bare by new Bevan Foundation report

New data gathered by YouGov on behalf of the Bevan Foundation has laid bare the devastating impact that Covid 19 is having on Wales’ poorest households.

Nearly a quarter of Welsh households, 328,000 households, have seen their incomes fall since the start of the pandemic. At the same time households have seen a number of key living costs increase including 41% seeing an increase in the cost of heating, electric and/ or water and 38% seeing an increase in the cost of food. Whilst the economic impact of the pandemic has hit people across Welsh society, it is the poorest households who have been most greatly impacted, with many forced to cut back on essentials or forced to borrow money.

More than a one in five households whose gross household income is less than £20,000 have had to cut back on food for adults and heating, electricity and/ or water. The same proportion have had to borrow money since the outbreak of the pandemic. 9% of households have fallen behind on a bill since March, rising to 19% of social renters and 20% of private renters.

Many families do not expect the situation to improve significantly over the next three months. 21% of Welsh households expect to have to cut back on at least one essential over the next three months, with a further 11% expecting to have to borrow money to make ends meet.

The data does demonstrate that there is broad support from the Welsh public for the Welsh Government to take action to provide people with emergency support, to construct more affordable housing, to support young adults in education and to close the attainment gap. The Bevan Foundation is therefore calling on the Welsh Government to take short term and longer term solutions to poverty with more detail set out in the briefing.

Pages: 7

Format: PDF

Language: English

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