UN investigator in Britain to examine widespread poverty
A United Nations special investigator has begun a tour of Britain to examine the impacts of government austerity program on the spread of poverty across the country.
Estimates suggest that a fifth of people, around 14 million, are living in poverty in the United Kingdom as millions rely on government and charity help to eat and survive. The surge in poverty is mostly blamed on a series of government austerity measures, which began in 2010, two years after the economic recession, to help reduce the country's budget deficit.
The Guardian newspaper said in a Monday report that Philip Alston, the UN’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, was launching a two-week inquiry into rising levels of poverty and hardship across the UK.
Alston said he was examining the human consequences of austerity cuts across the UK, adding that the government needed to cooperate in the probe.
The UN diplomat will travel to some of the UK’s poorest towns and cities while he is also expected to visit several of the food banks that have mushroomed across Britain over the past years. The official will also interview families in hardship, members of the British parliament, government officials and community groups.
One key issue in Alston’s investigation will be to examine the impacts of the Conservative-led government’s signature social care policy, known as the Universal Credit, on the spread of poverty in the UK. As part of the policy, many of previous benefits given to people in need have been ended and replaced with a lump sum payment. The opposition Labour Party has repeatedly claimed that the policy has caused many to become destitute and homeless.
Alston will publish an interim report on his findings after examining other factors including welfare changes, local government cuts, and rising living costs and before he leaves Britain in the middle of November.
Prime Minister Theresa May said last month that people in Britain should know that austerity was over after eight years. The opposition has rejected the claim, saying Britain will need tens of billions of pounds to reverse the impacts of austerity and save many people from poverty.
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