Child poverty facts and figures
(Najamuddin Ghanghro, Karachi(original from Larkana))
•There are 3.6 million children
living in poverty in the UK today. That’s 27 per cent of children, or more than
one in four.1•There are even more serious concentrations of child poverty at a
local level: in 100 local wards, for example, between 50 and 70 per cent of
children are growing up in poverty.2•Work does not provide a guaranteed route
out of poverty in the UK. Almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of children growing up
in poverty live in a household where at least one member works.3•People are poor
for many reasons. But explanations which put poverty down to drug and alcohol
dependency, family breakdown, poor parenting, or a culture of worklessness are
not supported by the facts.4•Child poverty blights childhoods. Growing up in
poverty means being cold, going hungry, not being able to join in activities
with friends. For example, 62 per cent of families in the bottom income quintile
would like, but cannot afford, to take their children on holiday for one week a
year.5•Child poverty has long-lasting effects. By 16, children receiving free
school meals achieve 1.7 grades lower at GCSE than their wealthier peers.6
Leaving school with fewer qualifications translates into lower earnings over the
course of a working life.
•Poverty is also related to more complicated health histories over the course of
a lifetime, again influencing earnings as well as the overall quality – and
indeed length - of life. Professionals live, on average, eight years longer than
unskilled workers.7•Child poverty imposes costs on broader society – estimated
to be at least £25 billion a year.8 Governments forgo prospective revenues as
well as commit themselves to providing services in the future if they fail to
address child poverty in the here and now.
•Child poverty reduced dramatically between 1998/9-2010/12 when 1.1 million
children were lifted out of poverty (BHC).9 This reduction is credited in large
part to measures that increased the levels of lone parents working, as well as
real and often significant increases in the level of benefits paid to families
with children.
•Under current government policies, child poverty is projected to rise from
2012/13 with an expected 300,000 more children living in poverty by 2015/16.10
This upward trend is expected to continue with 4.2 million children projected to
be living in poverty by 2020.