Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is available in “Households Below Average Income 1994/95 to 2006/07”. This annual report, which is a National Statistics publication, includes the numbers and proportions of individuals, children, working age adults and pensioners with incomes below 50 per cent. 60 per cent. and 70 per cent. of the national median income, and the proportions in persistent poverty.
Information covering 40 per cent. of median income is not presented in the Households Below Average Income series as it is an unreliable measure of poverty. Households stating the lowest incomes to the Family Resources Survey may not actually have the lowest living standards. Many people who report very low incomes appear to have high spending. Hence any statistics on numbers in this group may be misleading.
The available information is in the following tables.
£ per week equivalised Region Before Housing Costs After Housing Costs North East 338 291 North West 350 301 Yorkshire and the Humber 349 299 East Midlands 356 310 West Midlands 343 293 East of England 401 340 London 421 335 South East 435 361 South West 378 323 Scotland 371 323 Wales 346 304 Northern Ireland 342 302
Million Region Before Housing Costs After Housing Costs North East 0.1 0.1 North West 0.3 0.4 Yorkshire and the Humber 0.2 0.3 East Midlands 0.2 0.2 West Midlands 0.2 0.3 East of England 0.2 0.3 London 0.5 0.7 South East 0.4 0.6 South West 0.2 0.3 Scotland 0.2 0.3 Wales 0.1 0.2 Northern Ireland 0.1 0.1
Million Region Before Housing Costs After Housing Costs North East — — North West 0.1 0.1 Yorkshire and the Humber — 0.1 East Midlands — 0.1 West Midlands 0.1 0.1 East of England 0.1 0.1 London 0.2 0.3 South East 0.1 0.2 South West 0.1 0.1 Scotland — 0.1 Wales — 0.1 Northern Ireland — — Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income data. 2. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 3. ‘—’ denotes less than 50,000 children. 4. The reference period for Households Below Average Income figures is single financial years. Three sample years have been combined as regional single year estimates are subject to volatility. 5. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication ‘Households Below Average Income’ series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or “equivalised”) for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 6. The figures are based on OECD equivalisation factors. 7. Regional median incomes are presented in 2006-07 prices. 8. Figures have been presented on both a Before Housing Cost and After Housing Cost basis. For Before Housing Cost, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for After Housing Cost they are. 9. This response includes a lower income threshold of 40 per cent. of the contemporary median income. The data for households with an income lower than 50 per cent. of median are not considered to be accurate as an indicator of living standards. Many of these households whilst having very low incomes would not be considered poor, but do genuinely have few sources of income in the short-run. These figures are not National Statistics and caution must be applied because those people stating the lowest incomes in the Family Resources Survey may not actually have the lowest living standards. 10. Regional median incomes have been rounded to the nearest pound sterling, while numbers of children in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 children.