A 3rd of kids in Britain are in relative poverty

The Bishop of Leicester has suggested the federal government review the present two child profit cap, saying that the policy is a contributing factor to poverty and harms the health, wellbeing and life probabilities of children.

The Rt Rev Martyn Snow, who’s the Church of England’s lead bishop on poverty, pointed to recent research that suggested nearly a 3rd of British children live in relative poverty. In many areas greater than half of kids are in a state of relative poverty.

Relative poverty is usually defined as being on below 60 per cent of the median income. It differs from absolute poverty, which suggests an inability to afford basic necessities.

The research said that in 2023/24, some 4.5 million children were in relative poverty, representing 31 per cent of kids in Britain. The highest rate of kid poverty recorded was Birmingham Ladywood, where 62 per cent of kids are considered to be in relative poverty.

The data was compiled by The End Child Poverty Coalition, along with the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University.

The researchers suggested that the 2 child profit cap is a key driver of kid poverty figures. This has resulted in a situation where a toddler with two or more siblings is more more likely to be in poverty than in the event that they were an only child or only had a single sibling.

Scotland, which doesn’t have the two-child profit cap, had lower child poverty levels than the remaining of the country, although the proportion of kids in relative poverty was still a couple of in five.

Bishop Martyn said, “These statistics remind us of the sheer scale of kid poverty and the particularly high levels in certain parts of the country. Churches are doing all they will to like their neighbour and offer hope and opportunity to people within the communities they live amongst and serve.

“But we all know from the struggles of many individuals in our congregations, and the demand we see for our projects on daily basis, that there may be much work to do to show the tide on poverty. I pray that the Government’s child poverty strategy will rise to the challenge we face, addressing the two-child limit and other policies which drive poverty and harm the health, wellbeing and life probabilities of our kids.”