'National shame': three in 10 children live in poverty

Three in 10 children in the UK are living in poverty, according to record high government figures branded a source of national shame”.

- ALEXANDER BUTLER

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data revealed yesterday that the number of impoverished youngsters in Britain soared by 200,000 from 4.3 million to 4.5 million between 2023 and 2024.

The data comes after the DWP admitted on Wednesday by its own estimates that 250,000 more people, including 50,000 children, could fall into poverty by 2029-2030 following Rachel Reeves’s sweeping welfare cuts and spring statement.

The chancellor vowed to slash £6.4bn from benefits spending by the end of the decade by making it harder to claim personal independent payments and cutting universal credit. The DWP impact assessment said 3.2 million families – including current and future benefit claimants – will lose an average of £1,720 a year due to the changes.

But Ms Reeves rejected the findings and insisted plans to get people into work would lead to “fulfilling careers paying decent wages”.