Birmingham has one of highest rates of working-age people dying in poverty in UK
40% of people who died in Birmingham in 2023 were in poverty
A new report shows Birmingham has one of the highest rates of working-age people dying in poverty in the UK, with two fifths (40%) of people who died in the city in 2023 in poverty.
The figures come as a new report by Marie Curie reveals over 300 people died in poverty everyday in the UK last year, an increase of almost a fifth in four years.
Just Middlesborough and Manchester rank higher than Birmingham in numbers of people of working age dying in poverty.
111,000 people have died in poverty in 2023 compared to 93,000 in 2019.
We spoke to Hannah Nolan, who works for Marie Curie in our region - she says the figures are deeply concerning but not surprising.
"It is shocking, but obviously with the cost of living continuing to go up and nothing being put in place for people that have been diagnosed with a terminal illness, it's maybe not surprising that this figure is continuing to rise."
The Dying in Poverty 2024 report shows that people who die before reaching retirement age are at a much higher risk of dying in poverty than pensioners (28% vs 16%).
Hannah explains why.
"People of working age are dealing with a double impact.
"So they could be dealing with the rising cost of living, but then they're also potentially living with the fact they've had to lose their income because they've had to stop working because of their diagnosis," she says.
Hannah says the charity is calling on the government to introduce a pension-level income for working-age individuals with less than 12 months to live.
"What we're hoping is the government will consider allowing working-age people to access a state pension level income when they've been given that terminal diagnosis, so they can access a certain amount of income."
The report also found over one in five people who died in 2022 were experiencing fuel poverty.
Hannah says there are ways to address this.
"A social tariff to reduce those energy bills for anyone living with a terminal illness could significantly reduce their risk of dying in fuel poverty."
We've approached the government for comment.