Definitions of Poverty in Scotland and the EU

"Poverty is defined relative to the standards of living in a socieity at a specific time. People live in poverty when they are denied an income sufficient for their material needs and when these circumstances exclude them from taking part in activities which are an accepted part of daily life in that society." --Scottish Poverty Information Unit "There are basically three current definitions of poverty in common usage: absolute poverty, relative poverty and social exclusion: Absolute poverty is defined as the lack of sufficient resources with which to keep body and soul together. "Relative poverty defines income or resources in relation to the average. It is concerned with the absence of material needs to participate fully in accepted daily life. "Social exclusion is a new term used by the Government. The Prime Minister described social exclusion as 'a shorthand label for what can happen when individuals or areas suffer from a combination of linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, high crime environments, bad health and family breakdown.' " The House of Commons Scottish Affairs Comittee "Persons, families and groups of persons whose resources (material, cultural and social) are so limited as to exclude them from the minimum acceptable way of life in which they belong."

The European Union's working definition of poverty.