Sideways News

An estimated four million children live in poverty in the UK

Poverty in Britain is a largely unspoken reality. Lesley Ward, President of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, told the Daily Telegraph that some children in Britain are living in a state of poverty "mirroring the times of Dickens". The reality looks bleak, but the steps being taken toward alleviating the problem are remarkably simple.

It’s hard to envisage but over four million children in the UK live in poverty. Families survive on 50% of the average national income. That’s around £7,000 a year, or £134 a week (after housing costs). This income needs to cover food, fuel, clothes, bills and transport to name a few.

Poor people don’t get a voice
The list is endless, and explains the level of deprivation Ward is witness to. She describes children who cannot dress themselves, who have never used a spoon, sat at a table to eat a meal and who don’t know who, if anyone, will be at home when they return from school.

"Poor people don’t get a voice, the media isn’t full of stories of poor people struggling to survive," Rachel Bhatia (Media Manager, Save the Children) told Sideways News. "It’s not positive, it’s not necessarily a great news story that the public want to hear, but child poverty in Britain is a reality, so of course it’s a story that should be heard."

The simplicity of grants
In April 2009, Save the Children and Family Action launched the Cash Crisis Grants Scheme, giving out £150,000 (funded by British Gas) in grants of £100 to £200 each. The grants enable struggling families to make one-off purchases of children’s clothes, carpets, washing machines and mattresses.

"For these families, there were very few other options, other than getting themselves further into debt,” says Bhatia. "It’s a very simple scheme but it's been so successful." In light of the scheme’s success, Save the Children hopes the Government will hand out similar grants as part of their pledge to eradicate child poverty by 2020.

Living up to its expectations?
At the Labour conference speech in Autumn 2008, Gordon Brown promised: "Because child poverty demeans Britain, we have committed our party to tackle and to end it. The measures we have taken this year alone will help lift 250,000 children out of poverty. The economic times are tough, of course that makes things harder, but we are in this for the long haul - the complete elimination of child poverty by 2020."

The Government’s Child Poverty Bill 2008-9 promised to increase child benefits along with financing pilot groups to develop methods of tackling UK child poverty. However, significant accusations remain from 3rd Sector organisations that Brown’s government is still far off target. 

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