Harrowing report reveals over one million people in the East of England are in poverty

A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows the number of children in poverty has reached its highest figure since records began

Copper coins in palm
Author: Jasmine OakPublished 29th Jan 2025

There are fears that more and more people in East Anglia are living in poverty.

It comes as new research from anti-poverty charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has revealed, in the East of England, over one million people are in poverty.

That's nearly 20% of the region's population.

Average number of people in poverty and poverty rates by region

The report also warned that the East of England could see a rise in child poverty if nothing is done, with figures reaching their highest numbers since comparable records for the UK began in 2002/03.

JFR is calling for the Government to do more to help families now, rather than relying on wider economic growth, saying it believes a "stronger economy is likely to make little difference to the poorest UK households unless there is targeted support to tackle poverty."

Additionally, it's analysed the Office for Budget Responsibility and Bank of England's forecasts and found levels of poverty and deep poverty will remain "broadly" flat for the next four years "without additional action from the Government".

"It is unjust, no one in Britain in 2025 should be using a food bank"

JRF continued, saying it is "deeply unjust" to expect struggling families to wait for wider economic growth, re-emphasising its plea for the two-child limit on benefits to be scrapped.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously indicated he would like to scrap the limit but that the Government cannot currently afford to do so.

He's also repeatedly stressed his focus is on growing the economy.

Poverty rates per region

In Suffolk, a local charity that supports families in hardship says it's had its busiest December in six years.

Saffron Carter from the charityREACH,in Haverhill, tells us she agrees the two child limit should be scrapped: "People receive Universal Credit for no more than two children, and estimates by the Trussell Trust show that if the two-child limit was scrapped, there'd be 630,000 fewer people facing hunger."

We also asked about the difficulties people are coming to them with, to which she explained, due to the cost of living crisis, many people can't afford the essentials: "The amount of benefits that people receive is not enough to cover essentials.

"One thing we're calling for, in partnership with the Trussell Trust, is an essentials guarantee, so the base rate of Universal Credit actually is enough to afford essentials."

Saffron also felt it was important to recognise how close anyone can be to poverty: "People's circumstances can change overnight.

"It's not about how many children they have and the effect of the benefits, they could simply fall into poverty or financial hardship.

"We've seen it where people just fall into crisis and you can't predict that.

"There needs to be a system like Universal Credit increasing the base rate, so if people do experience that sudden financial hardship, they actually get support and they're not stuck in a cycle of poverty."

The Government says no child should be in poverty and it's planning on raising living standards across the country with measures including increasing the living wage.

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