Official sources · Questions

Poverty and household income statistics: where the official figures are

UK poverty statistics are official estimates of how many people live in low-income households, published mainly by the Department for Work and Pensions in Households Below Average Income (HBAI), using the Family Resources Survey. The ONS publishes separate figures on household income and inequality, DESNZ publishes fuel poverty estimates for England, and the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments publish their own analyses. Fact-checkers use them for claims about child poverty, pensioner poverty, food insecurity, inequality and living standards.

Covers: UK · Release calendar

What it publishes

• HBAI, an annual DWP release each March giving the share of children, working-age adults and pensioners in relative and absolute low income, before and after housing costs, with data back to 1994/95.
• Material deprivation and, from the March 2026 release, deep material poverty measures for children, based on whether families can afford a list of everyday items and activities.
• The Family Resources Survey (FRS), DWP's annual survey of around 16,000 UK households, covering income sources, benefit receipt, disability, caring, pension participation, food security and food bank use.
• ONS household disposable income and inequality estimates, including median income, the Gini coefficient and the ratio between the richest and poorest fifths, from the Household Finances Survey.
• ONS analysis of the effects of taxes and benefits on household income, showing how much each income group pays in tax and receives in benefits and services.
• DESNZ annual fuel poverty statistics for England using the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency measure, with projections and sub-regional figures.
• The legal National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates on GOV.UK, and Low Pay Commission recommendations and research behind each April's increase.
• Devolved poverty statistics: Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland (three-year averages), Welsh Government poverty statistics and the Northern Ireland Poverty and Income Inequality report.
• Statistics on the Universal Credit two-child limit (final release July 2026) and DWP's Children in low income families local-area statistics.

Key datasets

• Households Below Average Income (HBAI)
  The UK's main poverty statistics: relative and absolute low income before and after housing costs for each age group, plus material deprivation, food insecurity and income distribution tables, UK and by region.
  Updated: Annual (March), with occasional back-series updates
• HBAI report for financial years ending 1995 to 2025
  The latest full report and data tables, published 26 March 2026, covering April 2024 to March 2025 and the long-run series.
  Updated: Annual
• Family Resources Survey
  Annual survey results on household incomes, benefits, tenure, disability, caring, savings, pensions and food security for the UK and its countries.
  Updated: Annual (March)
• ONS household disposable income and inequality
  Median and mean household disposable income, the Gini coefficient and S80/S20 ratio for the UK, with long-run trends back to 1977 in the related dataset.
  Updated: Annual
• ONS effects of taxes and benefits on household income
  How direct and indirect taxes, cash benefits and benefits in kind change incomes across the distribution, by household type.
  Updated: Annual
• DESNZ fuel poverty statistics
  Annual fuel poverty estimates and projections for England, detailed tables, trends and sub-regional (local authority) data.
  Updated: Annual (spring), with sub-regional data later in the year
• National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates
  Current and past legal minimum hourly rates by age band and for apprentices, back to 2019 on the page.
  Updated: Rates change each April
• Low Pay Commission
  Independent recommendations on minimum wage rates, annual reports, research and the remit set by government.
  Updated: Recommendations usually in the autumn
• Two-child limit statistics
  Households and children affected by the two-child limit in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit, from 2018 to the final release in July 2026.
  Updated: Annual (series ended 2026)
• Pensioners' Incomes statistics
  Pensioners' income levels and sources over time, based on the same survey data as HBAI.
  Updated: Annual
• Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland
  Scottish Government poverty, child poverty target measures and income inequality, as three-year averages.
  Updated: Annual (March)
• Northern Ireland Poverty and Income Inequality report
  Relative and absolute poverty and income inequality for Northern Ireland from the FRS, published by the Department for Communities.
  Updated: Annual

APIs and downloads

• DWP Stat-Xplore
  Free online tool and REST API (free API key after registration) with HBAI datasets and Children in low income families local-area data; CSV and Excel exports.
• HBAI data tables (ZIP of ODS spreadsheets)
  Downloadable ODS tables with a directory of tables; no API key needed.
• ONS income and wealth datasets
  Excel datasets behind ONS household income bulletins; free download, no key.
• Welsh Government poverty statistics
  Links to Welsh relative income poverty releases and spreadsheets.

When it publishes

HBAI and the Family Resources Survey are usually published together in late March at 9:30am, covering the financial year that ended about a year earlier. ONS household income estimates follow later in the year. DESNZ fuel poverty statistics come out in spring. Minimum wage rates change on 1 April after an autumn announcement. All dates are pre-announced on the GOV.UK and ONS release calendars.

How to use it to check a claim

1. Identify the measure: relative or absolute low income, before or after housing costs. The four can give very different numbers for the same year.
2. Find the period: HBAI years are financial years (April to March) and are published about a year after they end, so 'latest' figures describe the year before last.
3. Use HBAI percentages and the matching 'number of people' columns in the data tables, rather than applying a percentage to a population estimate yourself.
4. Check statistical significance: HBAI reports which changes are significant, and many one-year moves of 1 percentage point are not.
5. Note the series break from linking survey data to benefit records, and the move of the absolute low-income reference year to 2024/25 for linked years.
6. For local child poverty claims, use Children in low income families on Stat-Xplore, which is a different (before housing costs) measure from HBAI.
7. For Scotland, use three-year averages from the Scottish Government rather than single-year UK breakdowns.

Common mistakes

• Mixing before and after housing costs figures, or relative and absolute measures, when comparing years or groups.
• Treating ONS median household disposable income and DWP's equivalised weekly HBAI median as the same figure.
• Comparing fuel poverty rates across UK nations, which use different definitions.
• Confusing the legal National Living Wage with the voluntary Real Living Wage.
• Reading a change within the survey's margin of error as a real rise or fall.
• Quoting food bank parcel counts from non-official networks as numbers of people in food insecurity.

What is HBAI?

Households Below Average Income (HBAI) is the Department for Work and Pensions' annual release on household incomes and poverty in the UK. It uses the Family Resources Survey to estimate how many people are in relative and absolute low income, before and after housing costs, along with material deprivation and food insecurity. It is the source behind most official child and pensioner poverty figures.

Is the Family Resources Survey compulsory?

No. The Family Resources Survey is voluntary. DWP commissions interviewers to visit a random sample of addresses, and households choose whether to take part. Around 16,000 households responded in 2024/25, from about 59,000 addresses sampled. Lower response rates make small year-to-year changes less certain.

Where can I find cost of living statistics?

Inflation figures come from the ONS consumer price indices. The ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, reported in its Public opinions and social trends bulletin, asks adults in Great Britain whether their cost of living has risen and how they are responding. Household income and poverty figures from DWP and the ONS show the effect on living standards, with a lag of about a year.

What does 'after housing costs' mean?

After housing costs (AHC) income deducts rent, mortgage interest, water rates, buildings insurance and similar costs from disposable income. It reflects money left for other spending. Poverty rates AHC are usually higher than before housing costs for children and working-age adults, but often lower for pensioners because many own their homes outright.

Questions answered using this source

• What is the National Living Wage?
• What is the poverty line in the UK?
• How many children are in poverty in the UK?
• What is the difference between CPI, CPIH and RPI?
• How big is the UK economy (GDP)?
• How many people face food insecurity in the UK?
• What is the median household income in the UK?
• How many families were affected by the two-child limit?
• What is UK GDP per capita?
• How many people claim benefits in the UK?
• What are UK greenhouse gas emissions?
• What is the current UK inflation rate?

Links checked 2026-10-13. This page describes what the source publishes and gives no verdict on any claim.