[A-List] UK economy: New Labour's social inclusion

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Wealthiest and poorest grow further apart
CAMERON SIMPSON
The Herald, December 08 2004

THE gap between the income of the richest and the poorest people in Britain
has widened since Labour came to power, a report has revealed.

Although the disposable weekly income of the wealthiest 10% of households
and the poorest 10% has increased at the same rate, in absolute terms the
gap has grown, according to the Office for National Statistics.

When Tony Blair's government came to power in 1997, the richest 10% of homes
had £565 or more to spend a week after deductions, with the poorest 10%
having just £139 or less.

By 2003, the weekly disposable income of the least affluent households had
risen to £164 or less, but the wealthiest had soared by more than £100 - to
at least £658 a week.

The percentage of the UK's wealth owned by the very richest people has also
increased during Labour's time in office, the report found.

At the end of 1996, the last full year of Conservative rule, the most
affluent 1% owned 20% of Britain's wealth, including property, savings and
stocks and shares.
By 2002, this had increased to 23%, with the wealthiest 50% owning 94% of
the overall wealth. The report's authors believe that the huge rise in
property prices since 1997 accounts for much of the difference.

The figures were published yesterday in a report by the Office for National
Statistics (ONS), entitled Focus on Social Inequalities.

The research found that while people in the UK were better off across a
range of measures, the benefits had not been shared equally between rich and
poor.

The ONS research team compiled data in several areas, including health,
education, work and living standards, to assess inequality between different
socio-economic groups.

The report found that access to the internet at home had become an indicator
of inequality between high and low income groups.

Almost 80% of the highest income households - those earning £1000 or more a
week - had online access, compared with just 10% of homes in the lowest
income bracket (earning between £100 and £200).

There was a much narrower gap between rich and poor in access to more
established household goods, such as washing machines or central heating.

The report found the country's average house price has almost doubled since
1998, from £81,800 to £155,600. This dwarfs the rise of just more than
£20,000 between 1990 - when the average price was £59,800 - and 1998.

The report also revealed a marked difference in the educational attainment
of children depending on their parents' jobs and qualifications.

In 2002, 77% of children with parents in higher professional occupations
achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A to C. Less than a third, just 32%,
of children with parents in "routine" jobs managed this.

The study also found that the general health of the UK population had
improved steadily over the past century, but said that there was still a
strong relationship between life expectancy and the jobs that people do.

For the period of 1997-99, life expectancy for men employed in the
professional classes was 7.4 years longer than men who worked in un -skilled
manual jobs.

Penny Babb, the report's editor, said: "It has shown that there has been a
range of improvements in various aspects of our lives - from the amount we
earn and our success at school to the degree of our well-being.

"But we haven't all benefited equally, with some showing greater gains than
others."