Child poverty reached almost 4.5 million in 2024, the highest level for more than 20 years in the United Kingdom, according to PA Media reports.
The number of children living in poverty in the UK has reached the highest level for more than 20 years, according the official figure that comes a day after government estimates suggested welfare cuts will plunge thousands more children below the poverty line by the end of the decade.
These 4.45 million children are said to be in households in relative low income, as the data published by the Department for Work and Pensions shows.
The latest figure is the highest since comparable records for the UK began in 2002/03 and rose from an estimated 4.33 million in the year to March 2023.
A household is considered to be in relative poverty if it is below 60% of the median income after housing costs.
The Child Poverty Action Group said the number of children living in poverty in April 2024 was 100,000 higher than the previous year.
But the total could rise to 4.8 million by the end of this parliament if the government does not scrap the two-child benefit cap, it said.
Alison Garnham, chief executive of the CPAG, said, according to the Guardian UK, “Today’s grim statistics are a stark warning that government’s own commitment to reduce child poverty will crash and burn unless it takes urgent action.
“The government’s child poverty strategy must invest in children’s life chances, starting by scrapping the two- child limit.
“The government has a taskforce working on a strategy to reduce child poverty, and it is due to be published later in the spring.”
