Event Report: UK Poverty 2025 Launch Webinar
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) hosted a pivotal webinar to launch its UK Poverty 2025 report, offering a stark analysis of poverty trends and systemic challenges in the UK. As a data-driven research consultant at Rocket Science consultancy, I attended this crucial event to deepen our understanding of inequality in the UK.
Our organisation specialises in addressing complex social challenges through evidence-based approaches that combine rigorous data analysis with human-centered methodologies. Like the panelists, we believe that effective solutions emerge when quantitative insights are paired with qualitative understanding of lived experiences, creating a powerful framework for developing interventions that truly address the root causes of inequality rather than just their symptoms. The event underscored the urgency of addressing deepening inequality while emphasising the critical role of lived experience in shaping effective policy.
Key Findings from the Report
1. Persistent Poverty Crisis:
Over 21% of the UK population (14.3 million people) lived in poverty in 2022–23, including 28% of children (4.3 million). The crisis has deepened, with the average poverty gap—the shortfall below the poverty line—widening to 28%. This means a typical family in poverty requires an additional £6,700 annually to meet basic needs, reflecting intensified financial strain on households.
2. Vulnerable Groups:
Children in lone-parent families (44%) and large families (45%) face heightened risks, while ethnic minorities endure stark disparities: 56% of Bangladeshi and 49% of Pakistani households live in poverty. Disabled individuals are disproportionately impacted, with 35% experiencing poverty due to systemic employment barriers and insufficient benefits.
3. Regional Disparities:
Poverty remains concentrated in London, northern England, and the Midlands, driven by high housing costs and low wages. Scotland’s targeted interventions, such as the Scottish Child Payment, reduced child poverty to 19%, contrasting sharply with England’s 29%, underscoring how policy choices shape outcomes.
4. Social Security Shortcomings:
Benefit freezes, the two-child limit, and the benefit cap actively push households into poverty. Current benefit levels fail to cover essentials, forcing 69% of the poorest families to skip meals, heating, or prescriptions. Systemic reforms are urgently needed to address these structural shortcomings.
Panel Insights: The Role of Lived Experience
The panel, featuring grassroots advocate Karen, academic Ruth Patrick, and policy expert Ryan Shorthouse, stressed the need for systemic reforms rooted in empathy and direct engagement:
• Karen – Grassroots Poverty Action Group:
Highlighted how poverty is exacerbated by dehumanising systems that blame individuals for structural failures. She emphasised:
“Policymakers must center the voices of those in poverty. Lived experience isn’t just data—it’s about understanding the trauma of choosing between heating and eating.”
• Ruth Patrick – University of York:
Advocated for dismantling policies like the two-child limit, which uniquely penalises low-income families. Her research with Changing Realities revealed how parents in families struggling with poverty are forced to navigate hard choices, such as having their children sleep in frozen bedrooms or to stay warm.
• Ryan Shorthouse – Bright Blue:
Called for a reciprocal social security system that pairs financial support with personalised employment coaching. He noted:
“Economic growth alone won’t reduce poverty. We need targeted policies that ensure growth reaches those furthest behind.”
Rocket Science’s Consultancy: Bridging Evidence and Empathy
At Rocket Science, our mission aligns with the key themes of this webinar: we provide consultancy services through a balanced mix of qualitative and quantitative fieldwork to shape better policies and interventions. The discussion emphasised the importance of evidence-based solutions, and our work ensures that data-driven insights are complemented by firsthand accounts from those affected by policy decisions.
Karen’s message—”direct action and lived experiences should shape policy decisions”—is at the heart of our methodology. By combining rigorous research with deep community engagement, we help organisations develop more effective and compassionate approaches to tackling poverty through:
1. Co-Design with Affected Communities:
Rocket Science employs peer research and ethnographic methods to elevate marginalised voices. For example, our work with Trussel Trust integrates lived experience into client support projects ensuring policies reflect real-world needs.
2. Mixed-Methods Evaluations:
By blending statistical analysis across various socio-economic needs with narrative insights through interviews and focus groups, Rocket Science identifies systemic barriers and measures intervention impact.
3. Data-Driven Advocacy:
Interactive dashboards and value for money analyses translate complex data into actionable insights for policymakers. This approach mirrors JRF’s emphasis on using evidence to challenge ineffective system.
4. Addressing Intersectional Inequalities:
Rocket Science’s focus on working at the intersections of multiple needs aligns with the webinar’s findings on overlapping disadvantages (e.g., disability, unemployment, poverty, etc.).
5. Expertise on Socio-Economic barriers
Rocket Science has extensive expertise in socioeconomic barriers such as employability, poverty and vulnerable groups like children, young people, and carers through evidence-based research, program evaluation, and strategic funding solutions. Our approach combines systemic analysis with grassroots engagement to tackle structural inequalities in employment, skills development, and community empowerment.
Conclusion: A Call for Bold, Inclusive Policies
The UK Poverty 2025 report is a clarion call to reverse decades of stagnation. As the panel concluded, tokenistic reforms are insufficient—policymakers need bold, trauma-informed strategies that prioritise dignity and equity. Rocket Science’s consultancy model exemplifies how blending lived experience with robust data can drive this change, ensuring policies like Scotland’s child payment are scaled nationally.
The path forward demands collaboration: researchers, advocates, and governments must unite to build a social security system that lifts, rather than punishes, those it serves.
Links
Event Page: https://www.jrf.org.uk/events/uk-poverty-2025-launch-webinar
