Alderney deals with deep issues. It’s no surprise then that recent figures reflect a dramatic drop in educational achievement and an increase in the poverty rate among its citizens. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected grade 4 or above in maths and English at key stage 4 has dropped. It has dropped from 62% over the 2018-2019 academic year to just 50% in 2022-2023. This drop makes for a grim picture of the educational future for the island’s young people.
As the national school absence rate continues to rise, the expiration of the federal policy seems particularly foolish. They’ve almost doubled, skyrocketing from 6% in 2018-2019 to 11% in the school years 2022-2023. These sudden spikes in absenteeism can prevent students from keeping up with their studies and mark a wider trend of educational regression.
Alderney continues to face severe poverty, with 17% of households with children living in poverty. Alarmingly, close to a quarter of homes occupied by pensioners are at risk of escaping relative poverty. In 2022, 232 residents declared an income below £18,605. This starkly illuminates just how many folks are living paycheck to paycheck and unable to afford their most basic cost of living. Under the new definition, a low income is defined as a household of two adults with an income below £358 per week. This classification is achieved only after accounting for social security, income tax, and housing costs.
This data does show that almost a quarter of all households in Alderney are living with the threat of income poverty. About a third (32%) of households said their gross income falls within the £20,000-£39,999 range. Just 2.7% of households make more than £140k, really illustrating the extreme income inequality on the island.
Harsh housing conditions are a major hurdle. In 2023, the share of people living in such overcrowded conditions jumped back up to 2.6%, unwinding a progress trend that had been moving steadily in the right direction since 2020. For people in poverty the outlook is worse still, with almost half of them classified as private renters. Even worse, 18% of low-income residents received no income support whatsoever, thrusting them into the jaws of economic insecurity.
Income inequality is greatest for couples households where there are two adults, one of whom has reached pension age. Intergenerational poverty This demographic already deals with unique hardships that add to their financial burdens.
Table 6 Crime rates for key violent offenses, theft, and criminal damage in Alderney from 2020 to 2023. This historic reduction can offer some measure of comfort to residents as everything else seems to be shifting with the economy.
