Report reveals ‘rising inequality in Britain’

Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation discovered that, despite an overall fall in the number of people who are “very poor”, there are more Britons living in poverty now than was the case 15 years ago.

Furthermore, the study reveals an increasing trend towards segregation of people who are rich and poor within British society.

One author on the report Micahel Orton commented: “There is evidence that a high level of inequality may cause real socio-economic problems.

“There is widespread acceptance that some occupations should be paid more than others: but the gap between high and low paid occupations is far greater than people think it should be.”

Figures released by the Insolvency Service earlier this year showed that more than 30,000 people entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement in the first quarter of 2007.