Child poverty numbers just keep rising in the UK.

According to a new report, millions of children are currently living in poverty in the UK.

The development comes as the Labour government has come under pressure for its planned cuts to welfare.

But what do we know? What do experts say?

Let’s take a closer look:

What do we know?

The statistics make for grim reading.

According to data from the government’s Department for Work and Pensions, nearly 4.5 million children are currently living in poverty in the UK as of March 2024.

That’s the highest number since records began being kept in 2002-2003.

According to BBC, that number comprises 31 per cent of all children in the UK.

That figure was at 4.33 million in March 2023.

A household is considered to be in relative poverty if it lies below 60 percent of the median income, or below $435 (Rs 37,000) per week.

From 2021 to 2024, the highest child poverty rates, keeping in mind housing costs, were in the West Midlands and London.

However, although London’s levels were among the lowest sans housing costs.

One in five families who had one child were living in poverty, compared with 44 per cent of those who had three children or more.

The research comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government announced cuts to disability welfare payments among other spending cuts.

According to the government’s own estimates, changes to the welfare system risk plunging 50,000 more children into poverty in the next five years.

BBC quoted the Child Poverty Action Group as saying that the number will likely rise to 4.8 million by 2029-2030.

“No-one should be living in poverty, and we know that the best route out of poverty for struggling families is well paid, secure work,” a Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson told the outlet.

“That is why we are reforming our broken welfare system so it helps people into good jobs, boosting living standards and putting money in people’s pockets,” they added.

Charities slam government

Charity Save the Children described the latest data as “a source of national shame” and “direct consequence of political choices.”

Daily Mail quoted Save the Children director Dan Paskins as saying, “These figures are a source of national shame. The rise in child poverty to 4.5 million - the highest figure on record - is a direct consequence of political choices.”

“The government must take immediate action to ensure more children do not fall into poverty next year. If they don’t, this could be the first Labour government that oversees a significant rise in child poverty - a record no one wants.”

Alison Garnham from the Child Poverty Action Group slammed the statistics as “a stark warning that government’s own commitment to reduce child poverty will crash and burn unless it takes urgent action.”

Garnham called on the government to remove a benefits limit on families with more than two children, and to reverse benefits cuts announced by finance minister Rachel Reeves on Wednesday.

“The government’s child poverty strategy must invest in children’s life chances, starting by scrapping the two- child limit. Record levels of kids living in poverty isn’t the change people voted for,” Garnham added.

Reeves has defended her plan to save billions a year in disability benefits by pointing to other measures aimed at improving growth and stability.

She has also cited government moves to distribute free breakfasts in schools and increase the minimum wage starting April 1.

“I am absolutely certain that our reforms, instead of pushing people into poverty, are going to get people into work,” Reeves told Sky News.

_“_And we know that if you move from welfare into work, you are much less likely to be in poverty. That is our ambition, making people better off, not making people worse off, and also the welfare state will always be there for people who genuinely need it.”

However, not everyone is convinced.

Daily Mail quoted Lord John Bird, Big Issue founder and crossbench peer, as saying, “I call on the child poverty taskforce to expedite its long-promised strategy and urge the Chancellor to back its recommendations with real resource and finance.”

“This includes axing the pernicious two-child benefit cap and benefit limit. Things will only change if the government spends serious money on breaking the cycle of poverty - on preventing and curing poverty. They can’t wait for fairweather days to roll over the hill before they act.”

Meanwhile, 21 percent of the population, or 14.25 million people, were in poverty as per the data, down slightly from the previous year.

While inflation has slowed significantly in the last two years, it had surged to more than 10 percent in 2022-2023 as energy and food prices skyrocketed following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The subsequent cost-of-living crisis continues to grip British households, with wages failing to keep up with rising prices.

As per AboutManchester.co.UK, around 800,000 more people are living in poverty in the UK today than in 2021.

Graham Whitham, Chief Executive at Manchester based Resolve Poverty said: “It’s a national disgrace that in an average class of 30, at least nine children are now living in poverty – and yesterday’s Spring Statement didn’t offer any concrete solutions on cutting this number.

“The latest figures show it is critical that there is immediate, effective anti-poverty activity within every locality and every level of government.”

“The government’s forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy must go beyond sticking-plaster solutions. We need to see real policy change that addresses the root issue and protects and supports low-income households – for example, lifting the two-child limit and benefit cap.”

“The last Labour government invested in families, lifted children out of poverty and grew the economy. These things go hand in hand. The current government must learn from this approach if we’re to drive down child poverty in communities across the country.”

With inputs from agencies