Posted on 2018-01-24 | 11:32

The End Child Poverty coalition released shocking new statistics showing the extent of child poverty across the UK, with some areas where more than half of children are growing up in poverty.

The figures also show that some of the most deprived areas of the UK have seen the biggest increases in child poverty since the coalition's local child poverty figures for December 2015. Increases of 10 percentage points in some areas demonstrate the growing crisis of child poverty in the UK. Three of the six constituencies with the country’s highest child poverty rates are in Birmingham.

As price rises risk pushing ever larger numbers of children below the poverty line, the End Child Poverty Coalition is calling on the Chancellor to end the freeze on children's benefits.

Commented Roger: “These figures are absolutely appalling. It is just not acceptable that in one of the world’s richest countries, nearly every other child in my constituency is growing up in poverty. This will seriously damage their chances in life, as well as causing a huge amount of suffering for their families.

“Birmingham has a severe lack of social and affordable housing, which is being made worse by the extreme cuts the Conservatives have inflicted on the council’s funding over the past seven years. Allowing the council to borrow to invest in social housing would help to ease the pressure on families who are curently forced into overpriced, poor quality rented housing. This would be a cost-effective investment for the council and would also help to cut the cost of housing benefit.

“We also need to end the freeze on benefits and ensure that all work pays a real living wage.”