Record high number of 'kids living in poverty'

THE number of children living in poverty in the UK has reached a record high of almost 4.5 million in statistics branded "a source of national shame".

- 

The official figure comes a day after Government estimates suggested welfare cuts will plunge thousands more children below the poverty line by the end of the decade.

There were 4.45 million children estimated to be in households in relative low income, after housing costs, in the year to March 2024, data published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) yesterday showed.

The latest figure is the highest since comparable records for the UK began in 2002/03.

It rose from an estimated 4.33 million in the year to March 2023.

A household is considered to be in relative poverty if it is below 60% of the median income after housing costs.