While many low income people find a ‘ladder’ out of poverty, most do not move far up the income scale and many fall back into poverty later on. This movement in and out of poverty has implications for policies intended to achieve the Government’s goal of reducing poverty and social exclusion, according to a new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Reviewing the evidence from a wide range of studies, researchers at the University of York’s Social Policy Research Unit found that:
- There is considerable movement in and out of poverty, although some people remain poor for prolonged periods of time.
- Work is the most important route out of poverty but not a guaranteed one and there is evidence of a cycle of moving from unemployment into low-paid work and back again.
- For some people, for example severely disabled people, paid employment is not a realistic option and increases in social security benefits could be the most important ladder out of poverty.
- Means-tested benefits are a potential ladder out of poverty for pensioners but a significant minority of older people fail to claim them.
- Maintenance payments can be a ladder out of poverty and into work if they are regular and not offset by falls in benefit.
- Success in education and training is an increasingly important route out of poverty for young people, but there is evidence of increasing polarisation between those who stay on and gain qualifications and those who do not.
