COMMENT: Rowntree report put crisis into perspective.

Why are veterans homeless?' VA is frequently asked. Has military service rendered them incapable of holding down jobs, sustaining relationships or getting through the day without drugs or alcohol? Are they so damaged by PTSD or horrific physical injuries that they are driven to the streets in desperation?  While this may actually be true in a tiny number of cases, the majority experience problems that relate to life - not military life, just 'life'. This sobering report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation puts crisis into perspective.

This study looks at measures of low income, deprivation and other types of

disadvantage. Low income (or poverty) is defined as people living in households

with income below 60 per cent of the median for that year. In the last two years, median income has fallen substantially, a fall that itself affects the number of people in poverty. (*See full report HERE.)

MONITORING POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION 2013

The latest annual report from the New Policy Institute brings together the most recent data to present a comprehensive picture of poverty in the UK.

Key points:

•In 2011/12, 13 million people in the UK were living in poverty. For the first time more than half of these people lived in a working family.

•The proportion of pensioners in poverty is at its lowest for almost 30 years. The proportion of working-age adults without children in poverty is the highest on record.

•Average incomes have fallen by 8 per cent since their peak in 2008. As a result, around 2 million people have a household income below the 2008 poverty line but are not considered to be in poverty today.

•In the last year, the labour market has shown signs of revival. Underemployment has fallen slightly from 6.4 million to 6.3 million and young adult unemployment appears to have peaked at 21 per cent.

•The number of people in low-paid jobs has risen. There are now around 5 million people paid below the living wage.

•The movement in and out of work is substantial – 4.8 million different people have claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) – in the last two years.

•Following recent changes to the social security system, many people on means-tested benefits have reduced incomes. Around 500,000 families face a cut in housing benefit via the under-occupationpenalty and a reduction in Council Tax Benefit. The number of sanctioned jobseekers with a reduced entitlement to JSA doubled in 2010 to around 800,000.

•The level of benefits for an out-of-work adult without children now covers only 40 per cent of what the public considers to be a minimum standard of living. For families with children this figure is no more than 60 per cent.

•National averages mask huge variations between areas in unemployment, educational achievement, and life expectancy.