State of Child Poverty 2023
As the cost of living crisis remains ever prevalent across the UK, we have surveyed over 1200 frontline workers who collectively support over 200,000 children and young people. The findings are stark, with a significant increase in children living in destitution and or some school is becoming a luxury they are struggling to afford.
7 July 2023 | by Pixie Parker | Read time: 2 Minutes Read time
This is the fifth annual publication of our report, and once again, numbers are on the rise. As the cost of living crisis continues across the country more and more families are seen to be living in destitution, school is no longer a necessity but a luxury and access to essentials continues to be a challenge for these families.
In last year’s report, we saw that families were having to choose between heating and eating. This year, we are seeing increasing rates of families that cannot afford the essentials. High numbers cannot afford utilities, food and nutrition and are going without basic furniture, falling into rent arrears, and do not have access to IT equipment for education or employment.
The already high level of mental illness is on the rise once again, only exacerbated by these poor conditions families are forced to live in. Education is starting to be seen as a luxury, as the costs associated with getting to school and engaging in education successfully become too much. Many households are going without heating or washing due to the significant costs of doing so. This is leaving children without basic levels of hygiene and wellbeing, with many living in cold, damp homes. They cannot afford the basic standard of physical care required to make their attendance in education possible, let alone the essential resources required to travel to their education settings, or access learning online and at home.
Joseph Howes, CEO of Buttle UK, said: “Our report demonstrates the catastrophic impact of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, which have meant more and more children are having to go without food, and the situations these challenges are creating are preventing them from having any chance to reach their potential at school. The increase in children and young people living in destitution is stark and worrying.
“A child poverty strategy is needed to support in the longer term, but changes can be made now to pull hundreds of thousands of children out from the destructive grip of poverty. We urge the government to act now and support struggling families by lifting the two-child Universal Credit limit and introducing an Essentials Guarantee, ensuring benefits always cover the basic essentials.”
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