CPAG’s response to the latest poverty statistics
- The latest poverty statistics show that in 2023/24 there were a record 4.5 million children in relative poverty (after housing costs), a rise from 4.3 million in 2022/23. This is 31 per cent of children.
- Analysis from CPAG indicates that child poverty is set to rise even higher – reaching 4.8 million by the end of this parliament (2029/30), in the absence of any poverty-reducing reforms.
- The key reason for this increase is the continued roll-out of the two-child limit, while the recently announced cuts to disability benefits also contribute to the projected rise.
- Child poverty fell in Scotland (the one-year poverty rate fell from 26 per cent to 22 per cent), due to the introduction of the Scottish child payment, while it rose in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This shows the impact investment in social security has on child poverty.
- The government has made a commitment to tackling child poverty and is due to publish a cross-government child poverty strategy later this year. CPAG is calling on the government to scrap the two-child limit and the benefit cap as part of the forthcoming strategy, as a vital first step.
- Reducing child poverty over the course of this parliament is essential if the government is to deliver on its wider objectives of improving school readiness, increasing living standards, and breaking down barriers to opportunity.