Actioning the UK Poverty Report 2025

What Does the Report Say?

The JRF’s latest report is tough reading. But for those of us living and serving in urban areas, we can be grateful for the painstaking work of researchers and statisticians. As campaigner Natalie Collins once told me, “I just want to hug and kiss all the people who do really good research… often they don’t know the impact of what they are doing!” We may not be able to do that, or even want to! But we can thank God for them—and use their evidence to fight for change in our communities. JRF’s clear report shows the scale of poverty in the UK and the groups most affected.

JRF produce their UK poverty report annually, based on  the latest available data, in this case from 2022/23.

What are the key findings?

From my reading of the report these are the points that seem pertinent to Christians serving in areas of deprivation.

• Little progress. Poverty rates haven’t shifted much since the last report. Child poverty is creeping up, while pensioner poverty has dipped slightly. Shockingly, 6 million people in the UK are in deep poverty—living on an income far below the standard poverty line. In 2022 alone 3.8 million people experienced destitution: meaning they were unable to meet their most basic needs – staying warm, dry, clean, and fed.
• Who’s hit hardest? Certain groups are more likely to experience poverty:
  • For example, over half of people in Bangladeshi households and around half of those in Pakistani households are living in poverty.
  • People with disabilities and carers are more vulnerable due to higher living costs and barriers to work (Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2025) UK Poverty 2025 p10).
• Child poverty is on the rise. Across most of the UK, child poverty is set to increase. Scotland is an exception, thanks to its plans to scrap the two-child benefit cap by 2026. This move aims to lift 43,000 children out of poverty at a cost of £155m in its first year.

What Can We Do?

• Use the report in our campaigning and fund-raising.
  • Specific research for your area is available in the report. This data can be helpful in your funding applications or fundraising.
  • If your MP is from the Labour party, push them to deliver on their manifesto promises to reduce child poverty and review Universal Credit. You could invite your MP to visit your church, or empower your congregation to write to them. The website writetothem.com is a great resource. If your MP is from another party, encourage them to hold the government accountable for tackling poverty.
• Shape our local support.
  • The report highlights groups at higher risk of poverty. Ask yourself: are parents, minority ethnic groups,     people with disabilities and carers fully included in our church and community projects?
  • Are these groups involved in leadership and decision-making in your work to tackle poverty-related issues? If you belong to one of these groups, is your voice being heard?
• Focus on employment and housing.
  • The report highlights the importance of good jobs and stable housing. Can your church help connect people to job opportunities or campaign for better housing locally? If you’re already doing this can you share your learning with another local church? One example of this in action is Grace Enterprises who are creating businesses and jobs for people who find it difficult to get into employment. Listen more about them on this Jubilee+ podcast episode. Another example is Cornerstone Partnership, find out more about them in this episode of the Hopeful Activist’ Podcast.

• Pray with purpose.
  • Can we use these statistics to fuel our prayers—asking God to bring justice to our communities. Check out this prayer resource from Jubilee+ for inspiration.

Statistics are powerful—they confirm what we already see and experience in our neighbourhoods and give us evidence to present to change-makers and influencers. The Old Testament prophets challenged their society by revealing its brokenness, and this evidence can be the mirror we need to hold up to our society to call us to build communities where everyone is valued and poverty is a thing of the past.

Citation: Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2025) UK Poverty 2025

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More resources:

Mission Mapping – get to know your community better: https://proximityhub.org/tool/mission-mapping/

Taking action on poverty: https://www.church-poverty.org.uk/act/

19 insights from people in poverty: https://jubilee-plus.org/docs/Voices-19-Insights-Booklet.pdf