{"id":4629,"date":"2015-07-02T16:16:01","date_gmt":"2015-07-02T15:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=4629"},"modified":"2015-07-03T11:35:28","modified_gmt":"2015-07-03T10:35:28","slug":"the-ever-widening-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=4629","title":{"rendered":"The ever widening gap"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The gap between low income family budgets and what they need for a decent standard of living is now much wider than before the start of the global recession which followed the 2008 banking collapse.<\/p>\n

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Those earning the National Minimum Wage and those on safety net benefits have seen the gap widen between what the public say people need and these families can afford.<\/p>\n

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The gap starts at a \u00c2\u01411,976 annual shortfall for a lone parent on the minimum wage with one child. It rises to a \u00c2\u014110,192 annual shortfall for couples on safety net benefits with two children.<\/p>\n

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And there are warnings that cutting on tax credits – threatened by the Tories in next week’s budget – will make matters worse.<\/p>\n

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New research funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation <\/a>looked at what the public say people need to have an acceptable living standard in the UK in 2015. They found the gap between what people thought was needed and what could be afforded was greater than in 2008.<\/p>\n

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It is not a measure of poverty and includes the cost of a holiday and to be able to buy a present for a family member. It does not include cigarettes or the cost of satellite television.<\/p>\n

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For those on the minimum wage – \u00c2\u01416.70 an hour \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the research found that, based on weekly pay and all figures at 2015 values:<\/p>\n