Given the range of benefits available, I think there must be an element of poor money management in some of these cases.

Agreed. I would say the majority of cases. I wish money management, even at a basic level, was a mandatory course in secondary/high school.

I don't think benefits cover mortgages - if you're unlucky enough to lose your job, benefits may not cover the mortgage and bills even if you manage to negotiate interest only payments with your provider. What do you do - keep a roof over your head or buy food. And if you default on your mortgage then what.

I think they cover the interest after a waiting period - that's what my brother got when he was made redundant. I admit that can be tough, but the employment laws there usually mean there is a pay-off in such cases.

Maybe - what happens if the company goes bust? I think you'd have to wait a while for the government payout but don't know how long.

I don't want to say there are no problems with poverty in the UK, but I am somewhat perplexed by the scale described.

Yes, agreed. I would never deny abject poverty, and it is all the more heinous in a FW country. However I do believe that by far the biggest problem (which is largely hidden because successive Governments have stripped HE subjects from school curriculums),-is that so many have no clue how to manage a budget.

Poor knowledge of cooking economical meals as well.

Again, this comes down to financial education. Mortgage insurance? Six months of emergency funds? Both standard recommendations that are followed by so few?

Then there were mortgages given out that were above 100% of the value of the property. Crazy. Some folks are there own worst enemies.

Yes as I said earlier poor money management is a huge factor and in a rich country like the UK poverty is relative. Food really is so cheap there is no real excuse for it. It would be interesting to know how many living in 'poverty' smoke and/or drink?

For children living in poverty there is no money management, smoking or drinking - maybe their parents do but it doesn't negate the effect on them

Well yes obviously if the parents create the poverty themselves it is a different matter and what you said actually proves my point.

In what way?

Much of the 'poverty' in a rich country is self imposed to some degree or another. The fact that children live in poverty through parents mismanagement is largely irrelevant as far as the problem is concerned. In the 3rd world children and adults live in poverty because they have no choice and have no access to food or money. In a rich 1st world country the vast majority of poverty is relative and is often the result of bad management. Children get caught up in it through no fault of their own and in many cases are destined to follow in their parents footsteps.
My wife used to volunteer for meals on wheels in Brisbane and some of the stories she told me were mindboggling. There were able bodied families receiving these almost free meals and their houses were full of beer cans and full ashtrays. Why should they be receiving these heavily subsidised meals?

For the "working poor" a car can be a necessity. My generation usually looked on a car as a luxury but things have changed.

Alcohol and tobacco addiction are clearly major problems for the poor. "A temperance home is a happy home." Some things have NOT changed since Victorian times !