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MIND THE GAP

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date22 January 2022
Publication titleJournal, The
HE wealthiest in Britain have assets worth hundreds of times that of the poorest, as wealth inequality throughout the country remains high

That's according to the most recent round of the Wealth and Assets Survey from the Office for National Statistics, which measures household financial wellbeing and attitudes towards wealth in the UK, covering the period from April 2018 to March 2020.

The data comes amidst rising concerns that the pandemic - which was not covered by the survey - may exacerbate an already troubling wealth gap.

Before the pandemic, the wealth of the richest 1% of households reached more than £3.6 million per household. Meanwhile, the poorest 10% of households had wealth of £15,400 or less.

The ONS used the Gini coefficient to calculate the severity of wealth inequality. The coefficient ranges from 0 to 1—indicating total equality to total inequality.

Although the wealth gap has remained stable for the last 14 years, its Gini coefficient stood at 0.6 in 2020 and still represents a significant degree of inequality.

The survey also revealed stark differences between regions' median household wealth.

The North East and Scotland - which already had the lowest figures for median household wealth - have seen that decrease by 7% and 12% respectively since 2006, when adjusted for inflation.

Despite a similar decrease of 8% in London, the region still held 15% of all wealth in Great Britain.

Meanwhile, median household wealth grew most in the East and West Midlands, by 14% and 13% respectively.

In all regions examined by the survey, inequality was highest in net financial wealth—which includes savings and investments and excludes liabilities. Inequality was next highest in pensions and property for all regions.

The last 14 years have seen a slight...

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