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Poverty spreads among children in Britain

"In the last decade and a half, living standards of the poor and affluent have marched in the opposite directions," says the report. "Between 1979 and 1992/93 the real incomes (after housing costs) of those in the poorest tenth fell by 18%; the average rose by 37% while the richest enjoyed a staggering rise of 61%."

Unlike some countries, Britain does not have an official poverty line. The report uses two proxy measurements of poverty--state benefits and wages that are half the average income after housing costs, adjusted for family size. About a quarter of the population are estimated to be living in poverty.

Lisa Harker, one of the authors of the report, says that the growth in unemployment from just over one million in 1979 to the current level of two million, coupled with an increase in average earnings, has widened the financial gap between workers and non-workers. "Since the beginning of the 1980s benefits have fallen behind earnings. Previously benefits were increased in line with wages or prices, whichever were higher," says Harker. "Since the 1980s benefits have been increased in line with prices only, whereas earnings have risen at a higher rate than inflation."

The report argues that the disadvantaged members of society have higher rates of morbidity and premature mortality than more affluent people. Life expectancy at birth is seven years higher for members in social class 1 than for those in social class 5. A child in social class 5 is four times more likely to die in an accident than one in social class 1.

"There need to be policy changes by government in order to tackle poverty," says Lisa Harker. "There is a growing tendency to blame individuals for their predicament, and what our report aims to do is to draw attention to the facts."--LUISA DILLNER, BMJ

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