Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Relief of poverty definition

What does Relief of poverty mean? In charity law practice, relief of poverty describes purposes that prevent or alleviate financial hardship by providing money, goods, services or support to people in need. It is a statutory charitable purpose in all UK jurisdictions (Charities Act 2011 s.3(1)(a); Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 s.7(2)(a); Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 s.2(2)(a)) and in Ireland (Charities Act 2009 s.3(11), which includes economic hardship). Case law (including Pemsel) confirms that poverty need not mean destitution, but inability to meet reasonable necessities. Typical activities include grants, food or fuel provision, housing and homelessness services, and debt or welfare advice. Beneficiaries must...

Relief and Prevention of Poverty as Charitable Purposes: Scope, Public Benefit and Practical Issues in England and Wales

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Practice notes

relief of poverty is one of the oldest and most broadly recognised charitable aims. By ‘relief’ of poverty we mean the ‘easing’ of its consequences, ie the removal or lessening of disadvantages experienced by an individual or community owing to a lack of financial resources.

Acceptable relief activities

At its most fundamental, charities working to relieve poverty provide essentials such as food, clothing and shelter, or the means to obtain them. Yet the relief of poverty is not confined to addressing only these core necessities. In the past, courts tended to describe poverty purely in financial terms. Increasingly, however, there is acknowledgement that the ‘poor’ are not solely the destitute, but also those unable to furnish themselves with the goods, services or facilities that most people consider routine, and therefore must ‘go without’. In the UK it is not limited to those who qualify for state benefits (though they are plainly included) and may fluctuate in income thresholds over time and between regions. Poverty can affect people for short periods or endure over the longer term...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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