National Insurance number
The National Insurance number is used as a reference number in the Pay As You Earn system, and also by the self-employed. It is also used in applications for Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), to check that an individual has opened only one ISA in a tax year.
Poverty in the United Kingdom
The persistence of high poverty rates in the UK is associated with the relatively low generosity of the welfare state. The UK social security system is characterised by a residual welfare state model based on the notion of market dominance and private provision. The state only intervenes to moderate extreme poverty and provide for basic needs, largely on a means-tested basis.
In 2017, inequality has been forecast to return to the levels of the Thatcher years. Torsten Bell of the Resolution Foundation, said: "[A] boom is slowing rapidly as inflation rises, productivity flatlines and employment growth slows. ... This time around it’s low- and middle-income families with kids who are set to be worst affected. This could leave Britain with the worst of both worlds on living standards – the weak income growth of the last parliament and rising inequality from the time Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street. The prime minister’s focus on supporting just managing families is absolutely right."