Indicator update: Households in Shetland who do not earn enough to have an acceptable standard of living
An update has now been made to the indicator, ‘Households in Shetland who do not earn enough to have an acceptable standard of living’, with data for 2021 now available.
Updated data
There is a huge amount of data and information that has helped to shape Shetland's Partnership Plan. Referred to as our indicators of change, this information helps us to understand what life is like and if we are making a difference for people in Shetland.
According to CACI Paycheck data (2021), 47% of households in Shetland do not earn enough to live well. This matches the figure for 2020, and is a small increase from 2019 (46%). It is much higher than the target of 35% set for 2021.
While there are no up to date figures so far for 2022, it is widely known that we are facing cost pressures across the UK, caused partly by energy costs and the Ukraine war but also factors such as the cost of raw materials, supply chain issues and recruitment challenges caused by Brexit. This is likely to be exacerbated in Shetland where the cost of living is 20-65% higher than the UK mainland (Minimum Income Standard 2016).
Background
We know that it is more expensive to live in remote and rural parts of the UK than in urban areas. In 2013 (with a policy update in 2016), a Minimum Income Standard (MIS) for Remote and Rural Scotland was developed.
“A minimum standard of living in the UK today includes, but is more than just, food, clothes and shelter. It is about having what you need in order to have the opportunities and choices necessary to participate in society”.
Research from 2017 found that based on the MIS, people in Shetland needed an income of 120% of the UK median (after housing costs) to meet minimum income standards.