Child poverty in UK is getting worse under the austerity imposed by the government for the last 8 years. We are entangled with other less important issues at the expense of facing and solving the most important issue of the shocking increase of children living in poverty. UK is not a third world country but the sixth richest country in the world yet it facing child poverty which is self-defeating and counterproductive. Children are the future of this country they need good homes, good health, good education, good family relationships and even friendships. Otherwise they will drift into crime, knife killing, gangs and violence. This is a wake up call to the government and local authorities to put their houses in order otherwise the consequences of failure to do so will be very serious and damage the life chances for a generation and long term prosperity of the country. No child should be forced to grow up in poverty. Child poverty is the highest in large cities, particularly in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
Government figures show 4.1 million children are now living in relative poverty(Getty) That’s over a quarter of all children. 1.7 million of these children are living in severe poverty. In the UK 63% of children living in poverty are in a family where someone works. The impact of child poverty can be devastating – and it lasts a lifetime. The poorest children are most at risk of disease, malnutrition and stunting. They’re more likely to miss out on school, or get a poor quality education. And there’s a greater chance they’ll suffer early marriage, physical violence. Child poverty can be solved if here is the political will, it isn’t inevitable. There are also concerns that universal credit cuts will further impoverish low-income families over the next few years. Prof Donald Hirsch, of Loughborough University, said: “It is a damning indictment of this government’s policies that in some constituencies of the UK over half of children are living in poverty. Increasing child poverty is a direct result of this government’s utter failure to tackle the increasing cost of living, stagnating wages and their slashing of social security support.”.
Baldev Sharma
Rayners Lane, Harrow
