'Kids face Dickensian levels of UK poverty'

SOME young people are living in “almost-Dickensian levels of poverty”, the Children's Commissioner said, insisting the two-child benefit limit must be scrapped.

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Black mould and rats were among some examples in a new report said to reveal the “real hardship” facing some families.

Dame Rachel de Souza said “society at large and decision-makers should be ashamed of the fact that children don’t have enough money”.

The latest official estimates, for the year to March 2024, suggest there were 4.45 million children living in poverty in the UK.

The Government is expected to publish a child poverty strategy in autumn, and campaign groups have said it must contain a commitment to scrap the two-child benefit limit, which restricts child tax credit and universal credit (UC) to the first two children in most households.