In the run-up to the announcement of the UK’s spring budget on Wednesday, a new report has warned that child poverty in the UK will reach 30.3% over the next five years. That's 10 children in a class of 30. 

The report, published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, claims that tax changes and benefit cuts are responsible for the shift, which will push a further 1 million children into poverty. Based on post-Brexit economic forecasts, child poverty rates will increase as a result of slow economic growth and prolonged austerity measures.

Effectively, we are moving back in time — as illustrated by this graph.

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Between 1998 and 2012, child poverty was drastically reduced. But according to the IFS, government policies since the 2015 general election have reversed these strides. 

"This increase is entirely explained by the direct impact of tax and benefit reforms over this parliament," the IFS said in a statement.

However, the Treasury has defended its policies, claiming the report does not give the full picture.

"We are taking action to support families with the costs of living by cutting taxes for millions of working people, doubling free childcare for nearly 400,000 working parents and introducing the National Living Wage — a significant pay rise for the lowest earners," a Treasury spokesman said in a statement.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, who funded the report, said: “These troubling forecasts show millions of families across the country are teetering on a precipice, with 400,000 pensioners and over one million more children likely to fall into poverty and suffer the very real and awful consequences that brings if things do not change.”

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The impact of poverty on a child’s life chances cannot be overstated. Children living in the country’s most deprived neighbourhoods are 10 times more likely to go into care than those from affluent communities. Attainment levels for children that receive free school meals at school are 1.7 grades behind their counterparts by the time they reach the age of 16.

Predictably, the knock-on effects are seen later in life, as poverty and lack of educational opportunities combine to reduce the employment opportunities available to people from low income households. Breaking the vicious cycle will take robust government policy to address growing income inequality. 

The UK government will be announcing its spring budget on 8 March, an opportunity to take steps to tackle child poverty. In February, the Scottish Parliament tabled a bill to enshrine goals to end child poverty in law, setting statutory targets to tackle what ministers called a “systemic” problem. As the UK embarks on its departure from the EU and seeks to maintain the Union, addressing the growing inequalities at home will be essential to repairing the divisions that threaten the country’s stability.   

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Demand Equity

Report: 1 Million More Children Set to Fall into Poverty in Britain After Brexit

By Yosola Olorunshola