Trend Risks falling disproportionately on vulnerable groups with compounding disadvantage

Summary

The report defines vulnerable people as those who need special care, support or protection because of age, disability or the risk of abuse or neglect, and it lists groups such as children, older adults, ethnic minorities, disabled people and LGBTQIA+ individuals. Many of the risks facing the UK fall unevenly on these groups and communities, and vulnerable people are more likely to suffer financial hardship when a risk materialises. Health and socioeconomic gaps are linked, leaving such communities with fewer resources and less capacity to build resilience in advance. When several vulnerabilities such as poverty and poor health overlap in one person, their effects reinforce each other. The report records that during the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis, ethnic minorities, residents of deprived areas, single parents, young people, people with mental health issues and disabled people suffered the worst financial, health and social impacts.