UK’s poorest households £3,000 a year worse off than Germany and France as families skip meals.

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Analysis shows if wage growth continued in line with the pre-2008 trend, the average worker in the UK would be earning £12,000 more per year today. ITV News Business and Economics Editor Joel Hills explains. At Scawthorpe Community Playgroup in Doncaster, a group of toddlers hurl themselves at a formidable collection of plastic toys. The children have been born in the sixth largest economy on the planet. Britain is a rich nation, but its wealth is unevenly shared and life on a low income is hard. “By the time you’ve paid all your bills, you’ve got nothing left,” Gabbi Lumsden said. Gabbi is sitting with Becky Hall. Gabbi and Becky are both single mothers with six children between them, and both rely on benefits.Benefits which don’t always cover the bare essentials. “As a mum, you eat one meal a day,” reveals Gabbi with a surprising grin. “As long as your kids get fed, you’re alright." The UK economy has been crawling along for the best part of 15 years and the result is stagnating pay, over-stretched public services and a sharp increase in the number of people who are struggling financially. Low growth is not a uniquely British problem, but new analysis by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) reveals that the living standards of households in the poorest parts of the UK are lagging behind their counterparts in many other countries. Wages and benefits in the UK may seem high on paper, but NIESR has compared disposable incomes and made adjustments for purchasing power - which takes into account what people can actually buy for their money. The conclusion is blunt: The lowest 10% of earners in the UK - roughly three million households - are more than £3000 a year worse off than the poorest households in Germany and £1500 a year worse off than the lowest earners in France. They are now also poorer than people in the poorest parts of Slovenia (where average disposable income is almost £900 a year higher), Malta (£1000 higher) and Ireland (£2300 higher). • Subscribe to ITV News on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2lOHmNj • Get breaking news and more stories at http://www.itv.com/news Follows ITV News on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@itvnews?lang=en Follow ITV News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itvnews/ Follow ITV News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itvnews/ Follow ITV News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/itvnews