An evaluation of the new official low income statistics

<p>Official statistics on those at low incomes have recently been at the centre of heated debate about trends in poverty in Britain. The Government has argued, on the basis of recently published figures, that the position of those on low incomes has improved substantially in real terms and that they have experienced above-average income increases. Poverty lobbying groups, on the other hand, have used these statistics to argue that the poor are falling further behind, and that one-third of the population are in or on the margins of poverty.</p>