Poverty and inequality in the UK: 2011

On Thursday 12 May, the Government will publish the latest figures on the distribution of income and the extent of relative poverty in the UK. The figures will cover 2009-10, the recent Labour government's last year in office and the last year of the recent recession. The IFS will issue a press release commenting on these figures shortly after their release on 12 May. The IFS will then be releasing a fuller report, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, on the latest figures and recent trends on Friday 13 May. The report will assess:

• How average incomes and the gap between rich and poor changed during Labour's thirteen years in office, and over the course of the recent recession
• Whether child poverty fell in 2009-10 for a second year in a row, or if it drifted further away from the previous government's target to halve child poverty by 2010
• Whether pensioner poverty has fallen during the current recession, just as it did in past recessions.

It will also look forward to prospects for income growth and poverty over the coming years.

This report will be launched on Friday 13 May at the IFS offices in Ridgmount Street, London at 9.30am. Registration will take place from 9am.