Margaret Greenwood responds to Joseph Rowntree Foundation report on poverty

Margaret Greenwood MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, responding to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report on poverty, said:

“This report should be a wake-up call for the government.

“One in five of the UK population is living in poverty, more children and pensioners are in poverty now than five years ago, working single parents have been swept fastest into poverty and in-work poverty is on the rise.

“Too many people are trapped in low paid insecure work and all too often the social security system fails to give people the support they need.

“The government should make tackling poverty a top priority by providing a living wage of at least £10 an hour for all workers aged 16 and over and create a social security system that treats people with respect and is there for any one of us in our time of need.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

· The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has released today (Friday) a report on poverty in the UK released showing that poverty has risen for children and pensioners over the last five years.
· Although employment has increased, in-work poverty has also gone up because often people’s pay, hours, or both are not enough.
· 56% of people in poverty are in a working family, compared to 39% 20 years ago. Children have had the highest poverty rate throughout the last 20 years, with 4 million in poverty in 2017/18.