More than a third of working-age people in Bradford were living in poverty when they died, according to a report by Marie Curie.

The charity, which campaigns for end-of-life care, said its figures suggested the city was among the 20 most poverty-stricken council areas in the UK.

According to the Dying in Poverty 2024 report, 28.9% of pensioners who died in 2023 in Bradford were also in poverty, the fourth highest area in the country.

The government said there were special rules to “ensure that those nearing the end of life can claim the support they deserve in a timely manner”.

Sarah Holmes, medical director at Marie Curie, said the report’s findings showed Bradford was a community “where people face many financial challenges”.

Mrs Holmes, who is based in Bradford, said: “Bradford is a great place.

“It is rich in diversity of heritage and culture, but unfortunately it is also rich in diversity from a financial perspective.

“It has a lot of disadvantaged communities.”

She said the town’s economic history, including the demise of the wool industry, contributed to this.

Conformable the reportbased on research by Loughborough University, Middlesbrough had the highest number of working-age people dying in poverty (44.5%), while Bradford was ranked 16th (35.3%). with Hull in 15th place (35.4%).

It says 110,000 people in the UK will die in poverty in 2023, up from 93,000 in 2019.

It also found that women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds were particularly affected.

According to figures from Bradford Council51% of people living in the city identified as female, while 56.7% of the population identified as white British.

Phil Mawhinney, Age UK’s policy manager, said: “Poverty in later life certainly reflects people’s experiences in working life.

“People have to take time off work and it’s often women because they are more likely to take time off work to look after children or family.

“When people take time off from work, they don’t build up as much of a pension record.”

Marie Curie is calling on the government to guarantee people of working age less than 12 months of living on a pension-level income and introduce a social tariff to reduce energy bills for people at the end of life.

In the recent Budget, the government announced that winter fuel payments would only be made to those receiving Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits.

It also announced an increase in the national minimum wage and an increase in national insurance contributions for employers

A government spokesman said: “No one should have to suffer financial hardship because of a health condition – that’s why there are special rules to make sure those nearing the end of life can claim the support they deserve in useful time.

They added: “In addition, we are expanding the Household Support Fund, increasing benefits and the state pension, while more than a million households are to be lifted out of energy poverty through the biggest potential increase in energy standards in history.” .

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