How poor is poor?

Food, clothing and shelter are the basic human needs. If you lack any of these I would call that poverty.
But people's ideas of what being poor means have changed greatly in modern times. Standards have risen and people's expectations are now higher. Most of us look back on our childhood when food was more basic, a boiled egg for tea; there was one fire in the living room, no TV, no holidays, we had few clothes, toys or books, but we didn't think of ourselves as poor, did we?
If you have seen a township in Africa where people live in shacks and have hardly any possessions, you have seen poverty. There is no benefit system, jobs are scarce and education is not free.
The gap between rich and poor is wider than ever. Properties in London that cost millions are standing empty most of the time, while there are people sleeping on the streets- that was a very rare sight years ago. The tax rules need shaking up, definitely.

If it's the same programme I saw, I really thought she told the doctor she was an alcoholic

A very long time ago you could get an additional amount of one specific benefit if you had to do more washing than normal because of a family member suffering from a medical condition such incontinence. This was usually because bedding needed washing because of bed wetting. It could also be claimed for the cost of extra washing for psoriasis suffers who used oily ointments that spoiled clothingand and bedding, meaning it needed washing more often. IIRC, a Dr's letter was required. It was a additional amount of benefit that was generally believed to be abused by many claimants.

My benefits knowledge is way out of date, but I'm not aware of any kind of allowance these days. A loan might be a possibility though, paid back from a person's benefit.

I retired from DWP 2 years ago, and at that point, and I am sure nothing has changed. In fact I know it hasn't. I have just completed 2 claims for Attendance Allowance for friends. The health condition has to have a severe effect on a persons life to attract AA. For younger people it us even more difficult to be awarded Personal I dependence Paynent - the replacement for Cdusability Living Alliwance. Please excuse typing errors.

I once came across a very thin young women in Lidl. She counted out pennies for some sanitary towels and was 9p short. Of course I happily gave her 10p. She cried with thanks. I persuaded her to let me give her a lift home. As we drove she told me her tale. She'd been hospitalised because of domestic abuse and her husband locked her out of the family home because he knew she was about to leave him. She was trying to get custody of her children. She'd managed to get rehoused and friends and family had got together second hand furniture. She couldn't afford heating or to eat properly. It was pitiful. Living off a single persons benefit Without a doubt she was poor. I was privileged to befriend her and watch in amazement how this young girl with the help of her family rebuilt her life and eventually got custody of her children. So I think it's the single on benefit who are the seriously poor.

Morethan2 - so glad you were there - and that she had other support too. In her situation it could be so easy to lose your grip on life generally and not get the children back.

morethan, what a lovely kind gesture and you would also have made her feel part of the human race again. Yes single mothers are very poor

Some single mothers are poor, I agree. Not all of them.

True, if they are in employment and well paid

morethan2 I'm glad you were there too.

Half of single parent families are classed as on a low income these days (according to poverty.org). A decade ago it was two thirds. It's still a lot of families.

The Tories have voted against requiring landlords to make their houses fit for habitation.

www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jan/12/tories-reject-move-to-ensure-rented-homes-fit-for-human-habitation

How did they win by 90+ votes on this when there is only a twelve seat majority? Who voted with them, or did not think it important enough to turn up?

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/12/private-tenants-living-rent-commision

I agree with this, by Caroline Lucas, but Cameron and cronies will not have it.