"There were crumbs of comfort today for struggling families but the flat-rate energy support measures take no account of the presence of children in a household, leaving millions of vulnerable kids exposed this winter. Hard-pressed families will only feel fresh hope when government provides targeted and substantive support to keep them afloat as living costs rise."
Prior to today’s Budget we surveyed parents about the cost of living and found only 28 per cent thought the government was doing well at supporting families like theirs with rising costs. The measures announced today are welcome but are nowhere near enough to meet the scale of the challenge faced by the families we work with, and will leave many families with children feeling overwhelmed and overlooked.
The government must invest in social security to reduce child poverty, boost living standards overnight and improve wider economic, health and educational outcomes.
Action for Children and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) have concluded a research project exploring how policy and practice could better support low-income working families to progress in the labour market and improve their financial security. What is the relationship between poverty and work? And what changes are needed to ensure parents are supported to work?
This paper presents an analysis of who is affected by fuel poverty in October 2026, based on analysis of the ONS Living Costs and Food Survey 2024/25. We use a threshold of households spending more than 10 and 20 per cent of their net income after housing costs on fuel. The analysis describes their characteristics, fuel poverty rates, and fuel poverty gaps.
878 young people from across Scotland came online for two special Cost of the School Day sessions for Challenge Poverty Week. Pupils learned more about child poverty and how to tackle costs in their schools to make sure everyone is included and ready to learn, regardless of income.
