Poverty index

Child poverty amongst families who are in work is at a record high, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reports. In its 13th Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion Report, national figures for child poverty have dropped to 3.7m, but poverty amongst children living in working households has increased to 2.1m. out of the 13m people living in poverty in the UK in 2008-9, 5.8m are described as living in "deep poverty". The report looks at the wider context of social exclusion and, amongst its health indicators, covers low birthweigh babies, child and young adult deaths, under-age pregnancy, mental health and limiting long-term illness.