Debbie Abrahams, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on a Joseph Rowntree Foundation report into the cost of poverty in the UK, said:

“The Tories are failing working people, leaving the state to pick up the bill.

“The stark report today from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation lays bare the devastating impact of the Tories’ failed economic approach on families up and down the country. It is not only bad for the many thousands living in poverty, affecting their life chances, but it is also bad for the public purse - with additional health, education and social security spending.

“The Tories must stop letting down working people and provide them with the chances in life to flourish; it’s vital for them and it’s good for the country.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1.     JRF report,

‘Counting the cost of UK poverty’, August 2016, https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/counting-cost-uk-poverty