JRF’s poverty report has ‘important messages for Hutton’, says CPAG
13.12.05

Research published today by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has “important messages” for the Work & Pensions Secretary John Hutton as he prepares his Green Paper on welfare reform, according to the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG).

The Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion 2005 report compiled by the New Policy Institute shows that:

• three out of every ten disabled adults of working age are living in poverty – a higher proportion than a decade ago and double the rate among non-disabled adults
• while child poverty is falling, half of all children living in income poverty live in households where someone is in paid work
• and 5 million employees aged 22 and over are low paid, with half of part-time workers paid-less than £6.50 an hour, three-quarters of them women.

Kate Green, Chief Executive of CPAG, said:

“This report has some important messages for John Hutton as he prepares to publish his welfare reform Green Paper. The research highlights 800,000 disabled workless adults who want to work, so the challenge for Mr Hutton is to provide the necessary support to help them into employment. We see no need to force them by benefit sanction - that can only do more harm than good.

“While work is one way out of poverty, it’s important to remember that it’s not a guaranteed route out of poverty. With five million adults earning less than £6.50 an hour, it’s little wonder that half of poor children live in households where there is an adult in work. Any strategy to tackle child poverty must not only address out of work poverty but in-work poverty too.

“The report also shows the very clear link between low skills and poverty. If the Government is serious about increasingly unemployment and reducing poverty, then it must continue to put raising skills at the top of its agenda.”

For further information please contact:
Alex Belardinelli
CPAG Press Officer
Tel. 020 7812 5216 or 07816 909302
abelardinelli@cpag.org.uk