Half a million more children are living in poverty than in 2010

Half a million more children have become trapped in poverty since 2010, a report has revealed.

The poorest areas, notably in cities such as London, Blackburn and Manchester, are seeing rates rise fastest – and campaigners have warned the situation was becoming the “new normal” in parts of the UK.

Anna Feuchtwang of the End Child Poverty coalition, which published the report, said: “We know what causes child poverty and we know how to end it. We know that the income of less well-off families has been hit by severe real-terms cuts in benefits and by higher housing costs.”

The number of youngsters who fall below the poverty line rose to 4.1 million between 2010-11 and 2017-18, according to the research. More than half of youngsters are affected in some areas.

Around 5.1 million children will be living in poverty by 2022 as a result of cuts to benefits and in-work allowances, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has predicted.

The latest data, based on estimates by researchers from Loughborough University, show the London borough of Tower Hamlets has the highest rate, with 57 per cent of children living in poverty.

Newham, Hackney, Luton and Manchester also have among the highest levels of child poverty, all above 45 per cent.

Ms Feuchtwang said the government must “urgently” set a course of action to “free children from the grip of poverty”.

She said: “We know that work alone does not guarantee a route out of poverty, with two thirds of child poverty occurring in working families.

“Yet in many areas, growing up in poverty is not the exception, it’s the rule – with more children expected to get swept up in poverty in the coming years, with serious consequences for their life chances.”

The End Child Poverty coalition called on ministers to restore the link between benefits and inflation. Campaigners also asked officials to make up the loss in the real value in children’s benefits as a result of the four-year freeze and previous sub-inflation increases in benefit rates.

The coalition also urged ministers to reverse cuts and invest in children’s services such as mental health, education, childcare and social care, as well as end the two-child limit on child allowances in tax credits and universal credit.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Margaret Greenwood said it was time for the government to “wake up to the growing poverty crisis in Britain”.

She added: “If we are to succeed as a country, we must invest in our children. But by 2021, our social security system will have shrunk by £36bn per year, with disastrous consequences for families across the UK.”

Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), said the figures showed the gap between rich and poor was widening, and that this was “extremely frightening” not just for child health, but for the future population.

He said: “Child poverty doesn’t just determine whether a child can attend a school trip or has a safe and warm place to sleep. There is so much more to it. Left unaddressed, poverty can alter the trajectory of a child’s entire life.

“We know children living on or below the breadline are more likely to develop mental health issues, become overweight or obese, and die early. They are also more likely to misuse substances.”

Levels of child poverty in local areas were compiled by academics at the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University using a new method for estimating child poverty using a range of indicators.

The latest figures relate to relative rather than absolute poverty. Relative poverty means living in a household where income is less than 60 per cent of the national average (median).

A government spokesperson said: “This study is based on estimates rather than actual measurements of income. Children growing up in working households are five times less likely to be in relative poverty, which is why we are supporting families to improve their lives through work. And statistics show employment is at a joint record high, wages are outstripping inflation and income inequality and absolute poverty are lower than in 2010.

“But we recognise some families need more support. That is why we continue to spend £95bn a year on working-age benefits and provide free school meals to more than 1 million of the country’s most disadvantaged children to ensure every child has the best start in life.”