A/HRC/41/39/Add.1 Annex Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights on his visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Contents Page I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3 II. Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 3 III. Government’s reaction to preliminary findings............................................................................. 5 IV. Understanding poverty in the United Kingdom ............................................................................ 6 A. Measuring and monitoring poverty ....................................................................................... 7 B. Employment alone is insufficient ......................................................................................... 8 Dismantling the social safety net................................................................................................... 8 A. Weakening benefits’ capacity to help people escape poverty ............................................... 9 B. Decimating legal aid ............................................................................................................. 9 C. Shrinking local government funding .................................................................................... 10 D. Privatization .......................................................................................................................... 11 Shortcomings of Universal Credit ................................................................................................. 11 A. Improving the social protection system ................................................................................ 12 B. Conditionality underpinned by punitive sanctions ................................................................ 13 C. Universal Credit and the digital welfare State ...................................................................... 13 Poverty among specific groups ..................................................................................................... 15 A. Women.................................................................................................................................. 15 B. Children ................................................................................................................................ 16 C. Persons with disabilities........................................................................................................ 16 D. Older persons ........................................................................................................................ 17 E. Ethnic minority groups ......................................................................................................... 17 F. Asylum seekers ..................................................................................................................... 18 G. Rural poverty ........................................................................................................................ 18 Devolved administrations .............................................................................................................. 18 A. Northern Ireland.................................................................................................................... 18 B. Scotland ................................................................................................................................ 19 C. Wales .................................................................................................................................... 19 IX. Brexit ............................................................................................................................................. 20 X. Conclusion and recommendations ................................................................................................. 20 V. VI. VII. VIII. 2