UK inequality gap to widen unless government acts - IFS

The inequality gap in the UK is set to widen unless the government decides to act and tackles these differences among the general public said the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

The divides along class, ethnic, gender, educational, generational and geographical lines are becoming more prominent across the country as the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to make life worst for those in a more vulnerable situation.

IFS said it was not inevitable the crisis would exacerbate inequality but urged the government to act as it could mean the survival of small businesses and a way for people from poorer households to catch up.

The think-tank's report on the impact of Covid-19 on inequality found that the lowest earners were likely to work in the sectors most affected by the shutting of stores. They were also the most likely to have been fired or furloughed or were at risk.

Also apparent was a significant gap in death rates between better-off and less affluent neighbourhoods and between some ethnic minorities and the white majority.

Private schools were twice as likely to offer online teaching lessons than schools attended by children from the poorest households.

Ethnic minorities were also more likely to have been affected by the shutdown or to work in key worker occupations and at risk of contracting the virus.

Regarding generational inequality, workers under 25 were twice as likely as those over 25 to work in a locked-down sector.

Robert Joyce, the deputy director at IFS, and an author of the report, said: “The crisis has laid bare existing inequalities and risks exacerbating them, but some of its legacies might

“If, for example, we can limit now the severity of career disruption, the widening of health and educational inequalities, or the extent to which small firms that had a productive future are squeezed out by larger established competitors, policy’s job in years to come will be much less difficult than if it is trying to limit or undo the damage.”