Key points
- Almost 1 in 8 children are experiencing material deprivation and living in a low-income household (11.9%), and 4.8% of children are materially deprived and living in a household with a severe low income.
- 6.2% of pensioners are experiencing material deprivation.
- The proportion of children with a severely low household income and who are experiencing material deprivation has increased since 2010/11. The proportion of children with low income and experiencing material deprivation remained level. Meanwhile, material deprivation has decreased for pensioners.
Lacking essentials, such as a warm winter coat, a filling meal, or inadequate heating for the home, can directly affect health. Material deprivation, and lacking access to essential items that provide a basic standard of living and level of social participation, matters for health, independently of income. It is much more strongly associated with someone experiencing poor health and lacking resources for an extended period. Time spent without adequate resources has implications for both long-term and short-term health.
This chart shows the proportion of children identified as being materially deprived and living in a household with either low income or severely low income, and the proportion of pensioners identified as materially deprived in the UK, between 2004/05 and 2019/20. Low income is defined as a household with a net household income, before housing costs, below 70% of the median. Severe low income is defined as a household with a net household income, before housing costs, below 50% of the median.
Material deprivation is defined as lacking in access to essential items.
- Children: these items include warm winter coats, leisure equipment, and social participation costs, such as attending school trips.
- Pensioners: these items include having a filling meal every day, a sufficiently heated home, and being able to attend a social engagement once a month.
The increase in severely low income and material deprivation is particularly concerning.
- The proportion of pensioners experiencing material deprivation has been declining since the metric was introduced: from 9.6% in 2009/10 to 6.2% in 2019/20.
- In 2019/20, 4.8% of children were living in a household with severe low income and were above the material deprivation threshold. This figure has risen since 2010/11.
- In contrast, the share of children living in households with low income and material deprivation has remained similar between 12.3% in 2009/10 and 11.9% in 2019/20.
The equivalent income measures for pensioner and child poverty have not moved in the same direction over this time, reflecting the need for a wider perspective on poverty that includes more than just income. Focusing purely on the income threshold itself means that we miss changes to the experience of people already below the poverty threshold. This is a particular issue given the nature of social security cuts, such as the benefit cap (limiting the amount of benefits a working-age family can receive) and the two-child limit (capping support through Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit to a maximum of two children).
Material deprivation represents a more severe form of disadvantage and can highlight important issues missed by income measures alone. Material deprivation gives a more insightful look into people’s lived experience of poverty. Income alone does not always reflect the resources available to people. The gradual growth in child material deprivation should lead to a re-evaluation of policy measures, such as social security cuts and reductions in local preventative services, both of which are likely to have contributed to this growth. Without sufficient support to offset rises in the cost of living material deprivation is likely to rise.
- This chart shows how many children and pensioners (using a different suite of questions) lack basic essential items. The lacked items are assigned a weight based on how often they are lacking. This means it is still a relative measure, but with more focus on lacking goods and services than income. Income alone does not always reflect the resources available to people.
- When people meet a certain threshold of lacked items (this is combined with an income measure for children), they are considered to be materially deprived.
- Low income for children is defined as living in a household with a net household income, before housing costs, below 70% of the median. Severe low income is defined as living in a household with a net household income, before housing costs, below 50% of the median.
- The measure of material deprivation for children changed in 2010/11, when four new components were introduced; and again in 2011/12, where the old components were removed. This created a break in the series. Measures for pensioners were available from 2009/10.
Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2021