Official Statistics
7. Rate of disability poverty: data table
Updated 11 July 2014
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| 7. Rate of disability poverty |
|---|
| Data source |
| Family Resources Survey |
| Time period and availability |
| Indicator covers disability. Splits currently available by age, ethnicity and gender. |
| Latest data available at July 2014 covered 2012/13. |
| Produced once a year covering a financial year, with a delay of just over a year after the end of the period referred to. |
| Data do not include care home residents due to the sample for the survey used consisting of the private household population. |
| What does this tell us? |
| The disability poverty indicator measures the percentage of individuals in families containing someone who is disabled with incomes below 60 per cent of equivalised contemporary median income, Before Housing Costs, meaning they are in relative low income. Tackling disability poverty is a priority as families with a disabled member have a higher rate of relative low-income poverty than average. |
| Using 60 per cent of equivalised contemporary median income as a poverty threshold is a historical and international benchmark. These data do not include care home residents due to the sample for the survey used consisting of the private household population. |
| No adjustment is made to disposable household income to take into account any additional costs that may be incurred due to the illness or disability in question, and disability benefits have been included in the equivalised household income used. This means that the position in the income distribution of these groups, as shown here, may have some upward bias. Results based on incomes excluding disability benefits are available in the 2012/13 Households Below Average Income publication. |
| How will an improvement be shown? |
| Generally a decrease in the indicator will demonstrate that an improvement has been achieved. However, economic conditions also need to be taken into account. |
| Links to other information that you may find useful |
| Further analysis of Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data are shown in the annual HBAI publication. |
| Table 7.1: Poverty rate for individuals by presence of disabled member in the family, 2009/10 - 2012/13, United Kingdom (relative low income, Before Housing Costs) |
| Poverty rate (%) |
| Group |
| Poverty rate |
| Source: Households Below Average Income 2012/13 |
| In 2012/13, a higher proportion of individuals with at least one disabled member were living in relative poverty Before Housing Costs, compared to individuals living with no disabled members. |
| Between 2011/12 and 2012/13 the percentage of individuals in relative poverty in families where at least one member is disabled increased in 2012/13 from 18 per cent to 19 per cent, while it fell from 15 per cent to 14 per cent for those in households with no disabled member. Neither of these changes were statistically significant2. |
| Notes: |
| 1. This indicator is measured using Household Below Average Income statistics sourced from the Family Resources Survey. The indicator measures the percentage of individuals in families containing someone who is disabled with incomes below 60 per cent of contemporary equivalised median income, Before Housing Costs. Data are annual with approximately a 12-month time lag after the end of the survey period. |
| 2. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Some changes between years will be small in relation to sampling variation and other sources of error and may not be statistically significant. This is relevant for particular sub-groups, as these will have smaller sample sizes than the overall survey sample size. For these sub-groups it is important to look at long-term trends. Statistical significance is not provided for these particular breakdowns. |
| 3. Proportions of individuals in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. |
| 4. In 2012/13, in order to fully comply with the Equality Act definition, the Family Resources Survey (FRS) adopted the new suite of harmonised questions on disability. Disabled people are identified as those who report any physical or mental health condition(s) or illness(es) that last or are expected to last 12 months or more, and which limit their ability to carry out day-to-day activities a little, or a lot. |
| Table 7.2: Poverty rate for individuals by age and presence of disabled member in the family, 2010/11 - 2012/13, United Kingdom (relative low income, Before Housing Costs) |
| Poverty rate (%) |
| Group |
| Children |
| Working-age adults |
| Pensioners |
| Source: Households Below Average Income 2012/13 |
| With the exception of pensioners, those living in families with a disabled member have a higher poverty rate than those in families without a disabled member. |
| Between 2011/12 and 2012/13 the poverty rate for children in families with a disabled member remained level, and saw increases which were not statistically significant for working-age adults and pensioners. There were small movements in the poverty rate across age groups within each category2. |
| Notes: |
| 1. This indicator is measured using Household Below Average Income statistics sourced from the Family Resources Survey. The indicator measures the percentage of individuals in families containing someone who is disabled with incomes below 60 per cent of contemporary equivalised median income, Before Housing Costs. Data are annual with approximately a 12-month time lag after the end of the survey period. |
| 2. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Some changes between years will be small in relation to sampling variation and other sources of error and may not be statistically significant. This is relevant for particular sub-groups, as these will have smaller sample sizes than the overall survey sample size. For these sub-groups it is important to look at long-term trends. Statistical significance is not provided for these particular breakdowns. |
| 3. Proportions of individuals in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. |
| 4. Data is unavailable due to small sample sizes and is indicated as suppressed by (..) |
| 5. In 2012/13, in order to fully comply with the Equality Act definition, the Family Resources Survey (FRS) adopted the new suite of harmonised questions on disability. Disabled people are identified as those who report any physical or mental health condition(s) or illness(es) that last or are expected to last 12 months or more, and which limit their ability to carry out day-to-day activities a little, or a lot. |
| Table 7.3: Poverty rate for individuals by ethnic group of head of household and presence of disabled member in the family, 2009/10-2012/13, United Kingdom (relative low income, Before Housing Costs) |
| Poverty rate (%) |
| Ethnic group of head (3-year average) |
| White |
| Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups |
| Asian / Asian British |
| Indian |
| Pakistani |
| Bangladeshi |
| Chinese |
| Any other Asian background |
| Black or Black British |
| Other ethnic group |
| Source: Households Below Average Income 2012/13 |
| The poverty rate in 2012/13 was higher for individuals living in households headed by someone from an ethnic minority. This is the case both for those in families with a disabled member and for those in families with no disabled member. |
| Comparison between the 2009/10 to 2011/12 figures and the 2010/11 to 2012/13 figures shows that the poverty rate for those in families with a disabled member remained level for the ‘White’ ethnic group but saw a slight fall for the ‘Asian or Asian British’ and ‘Black or Black British’ ethnic groups2. |
| Notes: |
| 1. This indicator is measured using Household Below Average Income statistics sourced from the Family Resources Survey. The indicator measures the percentage of individuals in families containing someone who is disabled with incomes below 60 per cent of contemporary equivalised median income, Before Housing Costs. Data are annual with approximately a 12-month time lag after the end of the survey period. |
| 2. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Some changes between years will be small in relation to sampling variation and other sources of error and may not be statistically significant. This is relevant for particular sub-groups, as these will have smaller sample sizes than the overall survey sample size. For these sub-groups it is important to look at long-term trends. Statistical significance is not provided for these particular breakdowns. |
| 3. Proportions of individuals in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. |
| 4. Statistics reported are on a three year average basis, due to the small sample sizes related to breakdown by ethnicity. |
| 5. Data is unavailable due to small sample sizes and is indicated as suppressed by (..) |
| 6. The ethnicity figures reflect the harmonised standards published in August 2011 which has resulted in changes. For more information please see the HBAI 2011/12 publication Appendix 2. |
| 7. In 2012/13, in order to fully comply with the Equality Act definition, the Family Resources Survey (FRS) adopted the new suite of harmonised questions on disability. Disabled people are identified as those who report any physical or mental health condition(s) or illness(es) that last or are expected to last 12 months or more, and which limit their ability to carry out day-to-day activities a little, or a lot. |
| Table 7.4: Poverty rate for individuals by gender and presence of disabled member in the family, 2010/11 - 2012/13, United Kingdom (relative low income, Before Housing Costs) |
| Poverty rate (%) |
| Male child |
| Female child |
| Male Working-age adult |
| Female Working-age adult |
| Male Pensioner |
| Female Pensioner |
| Source: Households Below Average Income 2012/13 |
| For individuals living in families with a disabled member, the poverty rate in 2012/13 is higher for females compared to males, with the exception of working-age adults. |
| Between 2011/12 and 2012/13 there was generally an increase in the poverty rate across these groups with the exception of male children2. |
| Notes: |
| 1. This indicator is measured using Household Below Average Income statistics sourced from the Family Resources Survey. The indicator measures the percentage of individuals in families containing someone who is disabled with incomes below 60 per cent of contemporary equivalised median income, Before Housing Costs. Data are annual with approximately a 12-month time lag after the end of the survey period. |
| 2. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Some changes between years will be small in relation to sampling variation and other sources of error and may not be statistically significant. This is relevant for particular sub-groups, as these will have smaller sample sizes than the overall survey sample size. For these sub-groups it is important to look at long-term trends. Statistical significance is not provided for these particular breakdowns. |
| 3. Proportions of individuals in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. |
| 4. In 2012/13, in order to fully comply with the Equality Act definition, the Family Resources Survey (FRS) adopted the new suite of harmonised questions on disability. Disabled people are identified as those who report any physical or mental health condition(s) or illness(es) that last or are expected to last 12 months or more, and which limit their ability to carry out day-to-day activities a little, or a lot. |
| 5. Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics assume that both partners in a couple benefit equally from the household’s income, and will therefore appear at the same position in the income distribution. Research has suggested that, particularly in low income households, the assumption with regard to income sharing is not always valid as men sometimes benefit at the expense of women from shared household income. This means that it is possible that HBAI results broken down by gender could understate differences between the two groups. |