Latest data released by the Commons Library shows that there has been a fall in the number of people claiming Universal Credit in Herefordshire over recent months.
Data shows that in November 2021, a total of 6,562 people in the Hereford & Herefordshire South area were claiming Universal Credit. Of those, a total of 3,108 were in employment and 3,456 were out of employment. In comparison, back in April 2021, a total of 7,156 were claiming Universal Credit in the Hereford & Herefordshire South area. There will be many reasons behind the fall, but the main one will be the reopening of the economy, which has led to a jobs boom, with many companies struggling to fill vacancies at present. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020, a total of 3,457 were receiving Universal Credit in Hereford & Herefordshire South.
If you move to the Herefordshire North constituency you see a very similar picture, with data from the Commons Library showing that in November 2021, a total of 4,769 people were claiming Universal Credit in North Herefordshire. In comparison, in April 2021, a total of 5,229 were receiving Universal Credit in North Herefordshire. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2021, a total of 2,321 people were claiming Universal Credit in North Herefordshire.
All this news comes as Your Herefordshire yesterday highlighted the plight of so many children in Herefordshire who are classed as living in ‘absolute poverty’.
Data released by the UK Government (House of Commons Library) shows that in 2019/20, an estimated 14% of children aged 0-15 years-old in Herefordshire were living in absolute poverty (people in absolute low income – living in households with income below 60% of (inflation-adjusted) median income in some base year, usually 2010/11).
The picture is bleak across the whole county, with both North Herefordshire and Hereford & Herefordshire South seeing the same percentage of children in absolute poverty.
In total, in Hereford & Herefordshire South 3,185 (18%) of children aged 0-15 years-old are living in relative poverty (people in relative low income – living in households with income below 60% of the median in that year), in comparison to 2,454 (17%) of children the same age in Herefordshire North.
Data shows that in 2019/20, a total of 4,449 children aged 0-15 years-old in Herefordshire are described as living in absolute poverty. This is a number that will shock many, especially with things likely to have got worse due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis that is now hitting so many households across the country due to rising energy and food costs.
Overall, levels of relative low income have been fairly steady over the past few years, but this varies between population groups: the proportion of children and pensioners in relative low income is higher than it was five years ago. The share of people in absolute low income has also remained reasonably stable over the last five years. This indicates that both living standards for the poorest households and the gap between them, and middle-income households has remained about the same.
In the United Kingdom, on average 19% of children are described as living in relative poverty, with 16% of children described as living in absolute poverty.
The full report can be found by visiting – Poverty in the UK: statistics – House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)
