The Poverty Policy team (Central Policy Division) has responsibility for developing, co-ordinating and driving the Executive’s priorities for tackling poverty.
Poverty in Northern Ireland
The most recent statistics, published on 14 April 2022are for the period April 2020 to March 2021. Data collection in 2020/21 was impacted by COVID-19 restrictions resulting in a heavily reduced sample size. This has led to additional uncertainty around the estimates, particularly for smaller groups.
As such, for 2020/21, only figures relating to the whole population in NI are presented in this publication. At that time around 316,000(17%) people in Northern Ireland lived in relative income poverty (before housing costs). People are considered to be living in relative income poverty if the income of their household is less than 60% of the UK median household income
12% of people (approx. 223,000) in Northern Ireland live in absolute poverty before housing costs.The causes of poverty are many and varied. People are considered to be in absolute income poverty if the income of their household is less than 60% of the UK median household income for 2010-11 (adjusted year on year for inflation). Further information on the statistics can be found within theFamily Resources Survey.
Poverty strategies
Anti-Poverty Strategy
There is a statutory obligation in section 28E of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 for the Executive to “adopt a strategy setting out how it proposes to tackle poverty, social exclusion and patterns of deprivation based on objective need”.
In line with New Decade New Approach, the Department is developing an Anti-Poverty Strategy that aims to address inequalities and obstacles that directly affect the everyday lives of the most vulnerable people in society and will bring focus to identifying and addressing the issues, barriers and disadvantages that undermine equality of opportunity.
Work on the development of the Anti-Poverty Strategy continues with a Co-design Group and a Cross-departmental Working Group.The Co-Design Group was established in November 2020 and comprises a membership of 27 voluntary and community and advisory organisations with a presence in NI that represent the breadth of work in the sector and have strong connections across the range of stakeholders whose views will need to be taken into account in developing in the Strategy.The Expert Advisory Panel met with and presented their recommendations to the Co-design Group on 8 December 2020.
The Cross-departmental Working Group was established in January 2021 and is made up of senior representatives across all departments who are currently working alongside DfC to develop the Strategy.
Development and drafting of the Anti-Poverty Strategy is ongoing.
Child Poverty Strategy
The Executive’s Child Poverty Strategy, published in March 2016, sets out the vision to eradicate child poverty in the future.The aims of the strategy are to: reduce the number of children in poverty; and reduce the impact on children ofliving in poverty (their lives and life chances).The Strategy sets out our goals to ensure programmes and policies provide extra support for children in poverty, improve outcomes for children in low-income families and take children out of poverty.
The Executive agreed to extend the 2016 -2019 Child Poverty Strategy to May 2022.The Anti-Poverty Strategy Expert Advisory Panel’s report is being used to inform the development of the Executive’s Anti-Poverty Strategy and the recommendations relating to child poverty are being considered in this context.
The Action Plan accompanying the Child Poverty Strategy has also been updated to reflect ongoing priorities and programmes tackling child poverty and its impacts.
Annual Reports on the Child Poverty Strategy are laid in the Assembly. The Annual Reports can be downloaded at the links below:
Research
The Anti-Poverty Strategy Expert Panel has provided its recommendations to the Minister and its report is available.
Statistics
Contact us
FAQs
In line with New Decade New Approach, the Department is developing an Anti-Poverty Strategy that aims to address inequalities and obstacles that directly affect the everyday lives of the most vulnerable people in society and will bring focus to identifying and addressing the issues, barriers and disadvantages that ...
What is a poverty policy? ›
ANTI-POVERTY POLICIES & PROGRAMS. Safety net policies like food assistance, housing assistance, and family tax credits keep millions of Americans from poverty each year and reduce hardship for millions more.
What programs deal with poverty? ›
Legal Services Corporation
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
- State/local-funded General Assistance (in most cases)
- Some parts of Medicaid.
- Section 8 low-income housing assistance.
- Low-rent public housing.
2023 Poverty Guidelines that Apply in Maryland
| Persons in family/household | Poverty guideline (annual income) | 250% |
|---|
| 1 | $14,580 | $36,450 |
| 2 | $19,720 | $49,300 |
| 3 | $24,860 | $62,150 |
| 4 | $30,000 | $75,000 |
5 more rowsFeb 13, 2023
Government's increasingly effective role in reducing poverty reflects the creation of programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for the elderly and disabled (in 1974), the national food stamp program now known as SNAP (made nationwide in 1974), tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit or EITC (in 1975) ...
What is the government strategy for poverty? ›
The current government strategy for poverty alleviation is established on two primary areas of action which are the promotion of economic growth and targeted anti-poverty programs.
Is poverty a public policy issue? ›
We often date our national focus on poverty as a salient public policy issue to the 1960s, but there is, of course, a much longer history. The “poverty as a public issue” story is not unimodal, rising once to national prominence and then fading. It is cyclical, rather, rising and falling several times.
Is poverty a policy issue? ›
Poverty is a complex, multifaceted problem that can be addressed only through a comprehensive set of innovative policies and effective reforms.
What current policies address the problem of poverty? ›
The passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in 2021 was the last anti-poverty, pandemic relief package signed into law and made improvements to the child tax credit (CTC), the earned income tax credit (EITC), UI, and SNAP, among other programs, while also providing a final round of $1,400 stimulus payments.
Do poverty programs really help the poor? ›
In relation to material deprivation, welfare payments have reduced poverty. In fact, a 2018 study by John Early for the Cato Institute suggests that if all benefits and other factors are fully accounted for, the true poverty rate may be under 3 percent.
U.S. Welfare Programs
- Refundable Tax Credits – These are tax credits that pay out cash as welfare. ...
- SNAP – This is a food program for low-income individuals and families. ...
- Housing Assistance – The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) runs various housing programs.
These include improved access to food (that results in higher nutritional and health levels), improved access to education (due to higher income levels and ability to pay for fees and supplies), and improved employment opportunities.
What yearly salary is considered poor? ›
The Poverty Threshold in 2024
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services uses the Census Bureau threshold to determine who is eligible for certain government assistance programs, like SNAP (food stamps). Under their guidelines, a family of four is considered impoverished if they earn $30,000 or less per year.
What income puts you at the poverty line? ›
Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
| Family size | 2023 income numbers | 2024 income numbers |
|---|
| For individuals | $14,580 | $15,060 |
| For a family of 2 | $19,720 | $20,440 |
| For a family of 3 | $24,860 | $25,820 |
| For a family of 4 | $30,000 | $31,200 |
5 more rowsUpper Class Salary in Maryland
| Annual Salary | Monthly Pay |
|---|
| Top Earners | $85,720 | $7,143 |
| 75th Percentile | $67,778 | $5,648 |
| Average | $63,800 | $5,316 |
| 25th Percentile | $38,873 | $3,239 |
The national Housing Trust Fund (HTF) is the first federal resource in a generation that provides block grants to states to build, rehabilitate, or preserve housing targeted to extremely low income (ELI) households, those with incomes at or less than 30% of the area median income or less than the federal poverty line.
Which agency in the United States government is responsible for setting the poverty level or poverty threshold? ›
The Census Bureau issues preliminary poverty thresholds in January, and final poverty thresholds in September of the year after the year for which poverty is measured. The poverty thresholds are adjusted to the price level of the year for which poverty is measured.
What government agency measures poverty in America? ›
The U.S. Census Bureau is the government agency in charge of measuring poverty. To do so, it uses two main measures, the official poverty measure and the Supplemental Poverty Measure, both of which are described in this FAQ.
Which of the following organizations focuses on getting rid of poverty? ›
Final answer: The United Nations Development Fund focuses on getting rid of poverty.
