Further 250,000 UK households face destitution in 2023, warns NIESR

Further 250,000 UK households face destitution in 2023, warns NIESR

More than 250,000 households will “slide into destitution” next year, taking the total number in extreme poverty to around 1.2m, unless the government acts to help the poorest families hit by the energy price shock, according to the National Institute for Economic & Social Research (NIESR).

More than 1.5m households will see the rise in food and energy bills outstrip their disposable income, forcing them to rely on savings or extra borrowing to make up the shortfall, said the thinktank, which blamed welfare spending cuts since the Brexit vote in 2016 for leaving millions of families in a vulnerable financial position.

To prevent a jump in poverty levels, the government must raise universal credit payments by £25 a week immediately while handing the 11.3m lowest-income households a one-off cash payment of £250, NIESR said.