Poverty Premium

The Poverty Premium describes the extra costs that families in poverty pay to access essential goods and services, such as food, fuel and credit.

Toynbee Hall’s 2014 report on the Poverty Premium notes:

“The Poverty Premium comprises of a number of areas in which people in poverty pay extra to access goods or services. It is driven by two main factors: an individual can be pushed out of cheaper goods and services, as is often the case with banking and credit; or they self-exclude from goods or services which could allow them to use strategies for managing money more effectively on a lower income. This self-exclusion can clearly be seen, for example, in the case of Direct Debt discounts, a payment mechanism which those on lower incomes often avoid. This is because people on low or variable incomes worry they will not be able to make the automatic payments and will instead incur refused payment fines.”

In December 2017, we launched an inquiry into the poverty premium. Would like to understand the extent of the poverty premium and make recommendations for policymakers and business to alleviate or eradicate it.

We would like to hear from low-income consumers, the voluntary sector, researchers and business.

Please complete the submission form by 30 April 2018.