At least one in four children in poverty in two-thirds of constituencies, study finds

At least one in four children are living in poverty in two-thirds of parliamentary constituencies, new analysis suggests.

Ahead of the General Election, parties have been urged to commit to "systemic changes" to help struggling families.

These rates of child poverty are highest in the North West, where 90% of constituencies have at least one in four children living in poverty.

The rates were also particularly prevalent in the North East, the West Midlands, and Wales, the research by Loughborough University for the End Child Poverty Coalition suggested.

The researchers said that child poverty rates are directly and strongly correlated with the percentage of children affected by the two-child limit in the local area.

It argued that this provides “further evidence that the policy is a key driver of child poverty”.

The two-child limit, introduced under the Conservative Government in 2017, restricts Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit to the first two children in most households. It is a policy charities and campaigners have repeatedly said should be scrapped.

Last month, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he would scrap the cap “in an ideal world” but added that “we haven’t got the resources to do it at the moment”.

Mark Russell, chief executive of The Children’s Society said the scale of child poverty is “deeply damaging the lives and futures of a generation of children”

He added: "The first steps the next government should take is scrapping the two child limit and the benefits cap – these together have had a catastrophic effect, pushing many more families into deep poverty.”

Official statistics released earlier this year showed the estimated total number of people in relative low income was at 14.35 million in the year to March 2023, with some 4.33 million of those being children.

The latest figure for children was the highest since comparable records for the UK began, and prompted campaigners at the time to say young people are being failed and forgotten.

A household is considered to be in relative poverty if it is below 60% of the median income after housing costs.

Some 1.7 million people across the UK are just £20 a week away from the poverty line, some 400,000 of whom are children and half a million of whom are pensioners, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Joseph Howes, chairman of the End Child Poverty Coalition and chief executive of the charity Buttle UK, said: “The data is undeniable – too many children are in a cycle of deprivation that affects their health, education, and future prospects.

"It is time to dismantle these barriers and the elections will provide a critical platform for committing to systemic changes to uplift families and give every child the opportunity to thrive.”

The research findings are for the new constituency boundaries for this General Election, with researchers saying their work provides “a valuable source of information for the incoming government in developing targeted strategies to reduce child poverty across the UK”.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...