<p>On Thursday 20 May, the Government will publish the latest figures on the distribution of income and the extent of relative poverty in the UK, which will cover 2008-09, the first full financial year of the recent recession. The IFS will issue a press release commenting on these figures shortly after their release on 20 May. The IFS will then be releasing a fuller report, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, on the latest figures and recent trends on Friday 21 May. This briefing will assess: </p><p><ul><li>How average incomes and the gap between rich and poor in the UK changed during the first full financial year of the recent recession; <li>Whether the rise in child poverty between 2004-05 and 2007-08 continued for a fourth year, or whether the increased generosity of benefits and tax credits for families with children led child poverty to fall; <li>Whether pensioner poverty has fallen during the current recession, just as it did in past recessions. </ul><p>This report and briefing note will be launched on Friday 21 May at the IFS offices in Ridgmount Street, London at 10.30am. Registration will take place from 10am. </p></p></p></p></p>

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