A Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom in 2020

This update of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Minimum Income Standard (MIS) presents new research in which parents identified what families with children need now to meet material needs and participate in society. It considers the ability of low-income households to keep their heads above water, helped by temporary increases in Universal Credit and tax credits in response to COVID-19. The results show the extent to which these increases, combined with a higher National Living wage, can help low-income households move closer to a minimum, providing them with opportunities to build a better life. For working families, the results are encouraging; for those out of work, they represent an improvement for some families, but even those who benefit must still live with well below what members of the public consider an acceptable minimum.