UK Poverty Post

What is the minimum income you need to live in Britain today?

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s report, a minimum income standard for Britain, has found that the minimum cost of living (set by members of the public) is rising at twice the rate of inflation, making it harder to live on a low income this year than it was last year.

The report calculates the income needed to afford a minimum socially acceptable standard of living in Britain. Items that make up a large part of a minimum budget, such as food, have risen sharply in price. Some items that have got cheaper, such as paying a mortgage and running a car, are not part of a minimum budget.

This year’s report reveals that:

• A single adult with no children now needs to earn at least £13,900 a year before tax to reach the minimum standard. This is a £500 rise from 2008; nearly half of this extra income is needed for the rising cost of food.
• About one in four people are living below the minimum income standard for Britain, and this is increasing as unemployment rises.
• The minimum cost of living has risen by 5 percent, contrasting with official inflation figures of 2.5 (CPI) and -1 (RPI) percent. A low-paid worker whose earnings were linked to the retail prices index could be 6 percent worse off this year, relative to the minimum cost of living.
• Job loss can leave you with less than half the income that you actually need to live according to the minimum income standard for Britain.
• The original focus groups believed that a car was not an essential item for everyone in Britain, and so it is not part of a minimum acceptable budget. However, while the cost of running a car has gone down this year, the cost of public transport has gone up.

Living in Britain on a low income is becoming harder and many people can no longer fully participate in society with their current incomes. To find out if your income meets the minimum standard use our online calculator.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oxfam GB.