People in relative income poverty, by whether head of household had used a foodbank in the past 12 months

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Next update expected:2027

Updates

26th March 2026
Dataset first published.

Main information

Designation
Official statistics in development
Data provider
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Data source
Households below average income, Family resources survey
Time period covered
April 2020 to March 2025

Overview

Summary of dataset and variables

This table shows people in relative income poverty, by whether head of household had used a foodbank in the past 12 months.

Figures shown are 3 year moving averages. 

This table presents data on all people living in households that have a household income below 60 per cent of the UK median household income after housing costs are paid.

Figures are presented in three ways:

  • risk measures the proportion of individuals with the given characteristic in relative income poverty as a percentage of all individuals with the given characteristic
  • number is an estimate of how many people with the given characteristic are in relative income poverty in Wales
  • composition measures the proportion of people in relative income poverty with the given characteristic as a percentage of people in poverty
Data collection or calculation

The data was provided by the Department of Work and Pensions Households Below Average Income Team.

Summary information on what to keep in mind when interpreting these statistics can be found on the Relative income poverty series page.

Questions that relate to food security and foodbank use are not asked of those living in shared households. This means these tables are calculated on a slightly different basis than other poverty estimates and figures for ‘all households’ may differ. 

Statistical quality

These figures are based on results from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) which is based on a small sample for Wales (around 1,200 households in FYE 2025). We advise caution when looking at year on year changes as these are unlikely to be statistically significant. For more detailed methodological information go to the Relative income poverty: methodology page.

DWP is changing how FRS statistics are produced to improve poverty statistics. Information on the major state benefits and tax credits is now based on administrative data rather than survey responses. This change applies from financial year ending (FYE) 2022 onwards. As a result, the first 3 year average produced on the new basis covers FYE 2021 to FYE 2023 (due to issues affecting FYE 2021). Key low income measures after this point have changed, creating a break in the data series from 2022. Users should not make direct comparisons of the low-income measures across this break. For more detailed information go to the Relative income poverty: April 2024 to March 2025 page.

FYE 2021 estimates are unreliable as they are based on data collected during the first year of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, when lockdown rules severely disrupted the data collection. Estimates for periods which span the financial year ending (FYE) 2021 do not include the data collected during FYE 2021 in calculations.

Data collection during the financial year ending (FYE) 2022 was via telephone interviewing as opposed to the established face to face method used prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Although we have assessed the FYE 2022 data quality to be robust enough for publication, there remains some residual bias in the survey sample resulting from the change in survey mode. More information on data quality is available in the DWP technical report which accompanies the release of the FYE 2022 statistics.

Rounding applied

All figures shown are rounded to the nearest 10 thousand individuals or whole percentage point.

Related reports

Published by

Organisation
Welsh Government
Contact email
statsinclusion@gov.wales