There has been a slight drop in the number of children living in poverty, according to the figures released by the government but the government needs to continue providing benefits to lift more out of poverty.
Friday 21 May 2010
New Household Below Average Income government figures reveal that 2.8 million children in the UK are living below the poverty line – down from 2.9 million. This means that child benefits have helped lift 100,000 children out of poverty in the past year.
"The numbers of poor children are finally coming down, after years of little change,” said Sally Copley, head of UK policy. “However, the fact that more than one in five of children in the UK still live in poverty is a stark reminder of the prevalence of this issue.
We’re urging the government to not to use the slight decline in the number of children living in poverty as an excuse to scrap or curb child benefits and tax credits.
"Thanks to the Child Poverty Act, the government is now held to account legally to end child poverty in this country by 2020,” Copley continued. “The government needs to set aside money to fund real change in the Queen's Speech: supporting parents to find well-paid work, and setting benefits at levels that do not condemn children to severe poverty. We also want to see the government veto any rise in VAT which will hit the poorest hardest."
Find out more about our work to end child poverty in the UK.