Child poverty

Significantly more children are growing up in poverty now than 40 years ago, says the National Children's Bureau in a new report. The report compares data on different aspects of children’s lives in the UK today with the experiences of children aged 11 in 1969, which were captured in Born to Fail, a National Child Development Study published in 1973. 

Meeting the minimum needs of a child up to age 18 now costs around £148,000 – equivalent to around £160 a week – according to an updated analysis published by the Child Poverty Action Group. The figure has risen by 4 per cent between 2012 and 2013.

The calculation is based on the 'minimum income standard' – the income needed in order to reach a minimum socially acceptable standard of living, based primarily on popular consensus. It is averaged for a child across all ages, and includes childcare costs and housing.

As many as nine per cent of children in London, or the equivalent of 74,000 children, may be suffering from inadequate food intake. That's one of the key findings of research conducted by Ipsos MORI for the Greater London Authority. The study involved interviews with over 500 parents and 500 children, at all income levels and across London, designed to understand the impact that hunger has on their lives.

Children from economically deprived families are more likely to be socially excluded as adults, finds a study from the Centre for Longitudinal Studies.

The study involved analysing data from more than 7,000 members of the 1970 British Cohort Study, and tracking six risk factors: poor physical and mental health; lack of emotional support from friends and family, and of trust in others; little or no interest or engagement in politics; having a low income, debts, or not having savings; limited access to good-quality public services; and being unemployed.