UK in-work child poverty highest on record

A new report published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows the number of children living in poverty in working households in the UK has increased to 2.1 million – the highest on record.

The thirteenth Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion report, written by a team from the New Policy Institute (NPI), is the first to be published under the new government. It looks at the long-term trends, as well as more recent changes from the recession, and highlights the challenges faced.

The report, published on 6 December 2010, shows that, despite the recession, overall the number of children living in poverty fell to 3.7 million, with the number in workless households falling to 1.6 million, the lowest since 1984. But those in working families rose slightly to 2.1 million, and they now account for 58 per cent of the total.

Co-author of the report, Tom MacInnes, said: "The fall in child poverty among those in out-of-work households came about despite an estimated rise of 60,000 in the number of children living in workless households over the year. So, we can almost certainly say that it is related to the rise in both Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit in 2008. Without the substantial increases in these benefits, the numbers of children in poverty would be around half a million higher."

He added: "With more than half of all children in poverty belonging to working families, it is simply not possible to base anti-poverty policies on the idea that work alone is a route out of poverty. Child poverty in working households must be given the same focus as out-of-work poverty. Until this happens, debates about poverty will continue to be misleading".