Poverty inched upwards last year as 8% of children lived in severe deprivation

There were 28,000 people who suffered severe deprivation last year as poverty inched upwards, figures released by the National Statistics Office show.

These people suffered deprivation in at least seven of the 13 categories measured by the European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey. Also, 7.8% of children in 2021 were living in households suffering from severe material and social deprivation.

The findings show that almost 50,000 people suffered deprivation in at least five of the 13 categories.

The NSO said that the ‘material and social deprivation rate’ stood at 9.8% (49,769 people) and the ‘severe material and social deprivation rate’ stood at 5.5% (27,769). Both measurements experienced an increase of 0.4 points when compared to 2020.

The two measurements are used to calculate poverty and form part of EU-SILC survey. The survey measures people’s perception of their ability to afford 13 material or social items.

Four of these items registered a positive decline in the number of persons who could not afford the relevant expense but the rest of the categories witnessed increases.

The largest increase (+0.8 points) was among those who had arrears on mortgage, rent payments, utility bills or other loan payments. The figures show that 7.8% of people in 2021 experienced difficulty to meet their loan payments, as opposed to 7% in 2020.

Similarly, 7.8% of people lived in households that could not keep the home adequately warm in winter. This represents a 0.6-point increase over 2020.

The figures also show that 33.1% of people, an increase of 0.2 points, live in households that cannot pay for one week’s annual holiday away from home.

A decline was registered in the number of persons who live in households that cannot face unexpected financial expenses – last year, 15.7% of people lived in such households. This represents a drop of 0.6 points over 2020.

Other declines were registered in the number of people who cannot afford a car and those who cannot replace worn-out furniture.

The figures show that 1.8% of persons lived in households that could not afford a car, a decline of 0.6 points over 2020. Similarly, 15.9% of people lived in households that cannot replace worn-out furniture, a decline of 0.5 points.

Meanwhile, the Social Policy Ministry said the findings showed that poverty remained stable in 2021 and “almost at the same level as those before the pandemic”.

The ministry said that despite the economic and social consequences of the pandemic, government’s support measures helped keep the poverty rate at a low level.

It said that when compared to 2013, substantial improvement was registered in either of the two categories.

In 2013, the ‘material and social deprivation rate’ stood at 19.9% (82,253 people) and the ‘severe material and social deprivation rate’ stood at 10.2% (42,210).

Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon said the impact of the pandemic was mitigated by the extensive support programme for workers, families, pensioners and businesses. 

 “Government will remain vigilant and be ready to intervene accordingly,”Falzon said, adding most of the social measures for 2022 have already been implemented.