Personal finances 'dependent on class'

10/09/2008

Social class is still a key factor in peoples' financial status, cabinet minister Harriet Harman is to claim today.

The comments will be made at the launch of a new, one-year study into inequality in Britain, the Press Association reports.

Differences in personal wealth are said to be widening, with low-income households still much more likely to fall in to debt.

The investigation will be conducted in the wake of a report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies, which showed that inequality has increased to its widest gap since 1961.

Since Labour took power in 1997, the study showed, the proportion of national income taken by the richest households has gone from 40.9 per cent to 42.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, the poorest families' share has declined from 7.7 per cent to 7.2 per cent.

Ms Harman will say: "We have made great progress on tackling inequality but we know that inequality doesn't just come from your gender, race, sexual orientation or disability.

"What overarches all of these is where you live, your family background, your wealth and social class."

Tags; Income Worries and Debt, Young Family Finances,

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