One in four Wales families living in poverty

One out of every four people in Wales is living in poverty. When looking at children, the rates are even worse. The rates of the youth stands at 33 per cent. The country now has more people struggling and living in poverty than every other area of the UK, with the exception of the city of London.

Not only are more families struggling, but the poverty rates are not improving. In fact there has been almost no reduction over the last few years. So even though the economy has improved and the government has spent a significant amount of money on welfare schemes and other benefits, the situation for many Welsh families is just as bad as it was several years ago.

There are some people that think those families living in poverty do not do anything to improve their situation. While there are definitely instances in which people try to live off their benefits and never do more than that, in Wales, this is not the case.

Around one half of those that make up these poverty figures have a job. So about 13-15% of these Welsh families that are living under the government poverty guidelines go to work on a regular basis. However the income they make is just not high enough for them to afford the basics in life. Too many people have jobs in fields such as retail or hospitality, and they have never gained the skills to take on a new position for a higher paying job in the future.

Another indication of the struggle is the growth of food bank usage in Wales. Over the period reviewed, the number of families seeking help from a Trussell Trust or independent food bank has doubled. This means that too many families just can’t afford to buy the groceries and other items they need. Other households are applying for welfare grants in Wales. So families on a low income are turning to charities or government schemes for help.

Many experts say that even though the Welsh government has spent a lot of money and time of this poverty problem, they are not addressing the cause of it. Maybe they are just sending people welfare cheques for their rent or other needs. But the government is not investing in the job programmes and other schemes that can lead to long term solutions.

In fact the rate over the last 20 years is mostly flat. So that means that of those millions of people struggling to keep up with increasing costs of food, rent, and other bills, they have been trying to do that for over 20 years. The Welsh government approach is clearly not working.

Additional data shows that many of people living in poverty are impacted by the competitive labor market. Or maybe they do not have the proper skills to find a new job with a livable wage, so they settle for low skilled positions. There are many reasons that are causing one in four to struggle.

So the situation does not look to promising for Wales families on a low income. Until these causes of poverty are tackled by the government the rates may not improve anytime soon, if ever.