Poverty In The United Kingdom

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In the year 2010, the United Kingdom was ranked 4th out of 22 European countries by UNICEF for having the largest amount of child poverty. The ranking must lower on the scale to help improve the community we live in. This problem is too big to ignore as it affects a vast amount of people in the UK. Poverty is a trap which is almost impossible to escape. The problem of poverty and the ways in which it is abused by some, how the numbers of unemployed people are affected, the effects taxation has, and the poor management of money in trusts that has led to people finding themselves in poverty.

Benefits are for helping the most vulnerable that are unemployed, however a lot of people are wrongly receiving benefits, cheating the system. It’s used
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Certain people with large amounts of savings benefit from high interest rates where as people with loans and credit card schemes pay high rates for very little gain. If the interest rates are low, people with large amounts of money benefit very little and people who pay back loans and other schemes gain substantially more. People with large savings have a bigger say on interest rates. Interest rates are controlled by the Bank of England who monitors the world markets. The government introduced minimum wage limits to assist all workers to earn a liveable wage. The minimum wage limit was introduced in 1999, at the time, the low paid saw increase of around one third in their wages. Some employers still pay below the minimum wage. The gap between the rich and poor has never fluctuated; the rich continue to get richer while the poor continue to get poorer. This trap ultimately keeps families in …show more content…
People who struggle to earn money can’t normally afford to own a home therefore renting housing from their local authorities is their only choice. Local authority housing tends to be neglected and the tenancy of some of the properties has a rapid turnover. The condition of the housing stock is often mistreated, built in unsuitable locations or built to poor specification meaning people are forced into overcrowded houses, that some may have damp within. The rate of the lease is usually suited to those on low income. Dampness is a common occurrence in low class housing; people in these enclosures are more prone to catching chronic illnesses. Dampness is a known cause for respiratory problems, eye infections, post nasal drip, airways infections and headaches. These diseases and problems caused by poor housing conditions has destroyed people’s lives as some people will have to fork out money to pay for treatments, leaving them without money to help them throughout their daily

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