UK child poverty

We’re outraged that 4 million children are living in poverty and a staggering 1.7 million children are living in severe and persistent poverty in the UK — one of the richest countries in the world.

Child by fence - UK child poverty

Severe child poverty increases to 1.7 million in the UK

The number of children living in severe poverty in the UK has shot up to 1.7 million — 260,000 higher than in 2004, according to our latest briefing Measuring Severe Child Poverty in the UK, commissioned from the New Policy Institute. Shockingly London, one of the world’s richest cities, is home to a fifth of all children living in severe poverty in the UK.

Growing up in severe poverty can have a major impact on children’s health, well-being and success at school. It's an outrage that 1.7 million children’s futures are being put at risk. Take action now.

We need the government to focus its efforts on helping families living in severe poverty.

Save the Children wants the government to:

cover 100% of childcare costs for parents on working tax credit
improve support for parents wanting to take part-time work
provide more training opportunities, especially for lone parents.

Wherever you are in the world, poverty kills childhood and breaks parents’ hearts.

Make sure the next Prime Minister knows you want to end child poverty at home and abroad.

Don’t let children pay the price of debt

The current recession is threatening to push children further into poverty, as many low-income families are forced to take on debt at high rates of interest.

According to our research, as many as 65% of families earning less than £30,000 a year will struggle to get by this winter

We found that 55% of families earning £12,000 or less a year will have to turn to high interest lenders to get through the winter.

Efforts to eradicate child poverty in the UK have rightly focused on improving low-income families’ lives through tax credits and benefits. Save the Children believes it is unacceptable that families in poverty are forced to turn to high-interest lenders to get them through hard times, diverting money that should be benefiting children into the pockets of catalogue companies, door-step lenders and loan sharks.

We want the government, banks and high-interest lenders to do more for families that are denied access to mainstream credit. Save the Children is asking the government to:

Reform the Social Fund, so that it has enough cash to help families who need grants and affordable loans in times of crisis.
Demand the banks do more for low-income families such as boost the credit union network, so that it has the money to lend to struggling families at reasonable rates of interest
Back a voluntary code of practice for high-interest lenders, to make sure they advertise their products clearly so that customers are fully aware of the financial commitments they are making.

Show your support. Sign our petition.

Lobbying for a level playing field

Too many children live in poverty in the UK; with over 1 million children living in severe and persistent poverty. That’s a family of four trying to feed themselves on £20 a week. We believe that children in poverty deserve an opportunity to reach their full potential. We are lobbying the government and key decision makers to ensure that children in the UK have a level playing field.

Save the Children welcomes many of the provisions in the Child Poverty Bill, particularly the fact that the Bill is UK-wide and that children have to be consulted in the preparation of strategies across the UK. However, Save the Children believes that the Bill should be strengthened in a number of ways and we will be lobbying the government during the Bill’s passage. Don’t let children pay the price of debt

Inspiring Change

“I think young people should have the right to get their voices heard and can really make a change.”

Inspiring change is a new project for Save the Children. We are working with children and young people from the most marginalised areas across the UK, to support them campaign and achieve change that benefits their lives and their communities. Children and young people in poverty have a unique perspective on the problems they face. We want to ensure that by working together we bring about lasting change for the 4 million children that currently live in poverty in the UK.

“I think young people are left out and get a bad name.”

Children and young people will be reporting back about the campaigns their working on via blogs and podcasts. Here is the latest example of what children and young people think about child poverty in the UK as they ask the question — are you doing all you can?

Check out what children and young people think about child poverty in the UK.

We're stepping up the campaign to end child poverty in the UK. Following on from the brilliant rally last October, we want to demonstrate to the government that more and more people are adding their support to the call to end child poverty. Join our Facebook cause today, send it to all your friends and check out some more photos.

Members of the Campaign to End Child Poverty demonstrate outside House of Commons. Join our Facebook cause today, send it to all your friends and check out some more photos.

Save the Children send a message to the Government about child poverty in the UK. Join our Facebook cause today, send it to all your friends and check out some more photos.

Find out more about child poverty

Read about our work in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

See our poverty briefings and reports. We’ve got loads of research in our online library.
Visit the End Child Poverty Coalition website, or the Family Action.
Read the book Why Money Matters: Family income, poverty and children’s lives, for up-to-date evidence and a compelling look into the root of this cause.

Get involved

Have you read our blog? Have you got a story to tell about UK child poverty? Leave a comment on our blogs section, or contact us today to become a guest blogger: c.lever@savethechildren.org.uk.