What do the statistics on poverty among Black children in the UK show?
What is the Labour Party criticising the Conservatives for Black poverty?
What has been the impact of job closures on coloured families?
What does Boris Johnson’s government claim about poverty among Black families?
New research shows that more than half of Black children in the UK struggle with poverty and are twice as likely to be poorer than White children. The Guardian published the results of an analysis of official statistics revealed in the UK Labour Party investigation, adding that the research was based on government statistics on relatively low-income families.
Raising Poor Black Children in the UK
Over the past decade, the total number of Black children in low-income families has increased. However, this increase can be partly justified by the overall increase in the population of this group. Black children living in low-income families rose from 42% between 2010 and 2011 to 53% between 2019 and 2020. The Labour Party has released the results of this investigation to the Guardian, describing it as evidence of the Conservative Party’s incompetence and denial of racism in British society.
Labour Party Criticism of Conservatives
Labour leader Keir Starmer has vowed to pass a new anti-gender inequality law in parliament if the party wins again, with more details expected in 2022. According to the report, in 2019 and 2020, 4.3 million children under the age of 16 or in the age group of 16 to 19 lived in low-income families. They made up 31% of a population of 14 million. Child poverty varied among different ethnic families.
The study showed nine categories of poor children, with 61% being among children of Bangladeshi descent living in low-income families. Children of Pakistani (55%), African or Caribbean (53%) descent, other ethnicities (51%), other Asian (50%), mixed ethnicity (32%), Indian (27%), White (26%), and Chinese were next respectively.
Increased Poverty Among Blacks Relative to Whites
These statistics show that among some ethnic groups, children may have been living in poverty for as long as a decade now. In 2010 and 2011, 61% of Bangladeshi children lived in low-income families. The probability of Indian children living in low-income families has risen from 34% to 27% compared to a decade ago. The figure for Chinese children has dropped from 47% to 12%. But for white children, the probability of living in a low-income family has increased from 24% to 26% compared to a decade ago. The index has jumped from 50% to 55% for Pakistani children and 42% to 53% for Black children. Overall, 27% of all children lived in low-income families between 2010 and 2011.
Conservative Inaction on Structural Inequality
Anneliese Dodds, the shadow secretary of state for women and equalities whose office has released the latest figures, said the Conservatives should be ashamed of what was revealed. “There is little wonder that child poverty has skyrocketed over the last decade when Conservative ministers have done so little to tackle the structural inequalities driving it,” she said. A spokesman for the UK government released another report in response to this report, claiming that the number of children living in low-income families had decreased between 2019 and 2020 compared to 2010.
The spokesperson said: “The latest official figures show there were 300,000 fewer children of all backgrounds in poverty after housing costs than in 2010, and we continue to provide extensive support to reduce this number further. This includes putting £1,000 more per year on average into the pockets of the lowest earners through changes to universal credit, increasing the minimum wage next April to £9.50 per hour and helping with the cost of fuel bills.”
Rising Poverty Among People of Colour in the UK
Coloured landlords in the UK live in poverty almost twice as often as White landlords in the country. With an increase of 100,000 poor landlords in 2019 compared to 2018 in the UK, nearly half of Black landlords now live in poverty. The Social Metrics Commission found in a study that non-White landlords in the UK live in poverty almost twice as often as white landlords.
Impact of Job Closures on Families of Colour
According to the commission, following the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK, homeowners of colour are now facing more unemployment and lower incomes due to business closures. While about half of Black African and Caribbean landlords in the UK are poor, one-fifth of white landlords in the country are poor, according to the annual report of the Social Metrics Commission. Black, Asian, and minority households in the UK are two to three times more vulnerable to poverty than white households.
All poor households, significantly those considered flawed, suffer more from business closures in the UK than others. As a result, the coronavirus outbreak may increase the number of poor and the severity of poverty. People who are below the absolute poverty line and cannot meet their basic needs are considered flawed.
Increased Unemployment among People of Colour Compared to Whites
According to the Social Metrics Commission, while one-tenth of Blacks, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and mixed background adults are unemployed, one in 25 White Britons is unemployed. A survey of 80,000 adults carried out by the commission between 25 March and 18 May found that 65% of those people in deep poverty before the crisis had suffered reduced earnings, job losses or furlough. This compared with 35% of those living in families with incomes more than 20% above the poverty line.
Zubaida Haque, interim director of the race equality think tank the Runnymede Trust, said the Covid-19 pandemic had unequally affected non-Whites in both health and income. They are more threatened than White Britons. The Social Metrics Commission also estimates that half of all poor British households have a disabled person.
Statistics show that poverty in Black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities have been increasing in recent years, and the Covid-19 pandemic has further increased poverty among BAME. Boris Johnson’s government, meanwhile, claims to have reduced poverty among Blacks and people of colour during his tenure in office, while research shows that Boris Johnson’s claims in this regard are not valid.
