‘1 in 5 kids go hungry’

REPORT: UK’S POVERTY LINE OF R3 500 A WEEK LEAVES CHILDREN POOR

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»> 'Removing a two-child benefit cap can bring relief.'

A record 9.3 million people, including three million children, are facing hunger and hardship in the UK, a study said yesterday, with the new Labour government under pressure to do more to tackle child poverty.

The findings come before the government's first budget this month and with a cost-of-living crisis that has driven soaring use of food banks.

According to the report by nongovernmental organisation the Trussell Trust, almost a quarter of children under four are facing extreme poverty.

“Shockingly, 46% more children are facing hunger and hardship than two decades ago. That equates to one in five children growing up trapped in this situation,” the trust said.

A Unicef report last year found the UK - a G7 and Nato member, and the world's sixth-biggest economy - has one of the highest rates of child poverty among richer countries.