New analysis by Action for Children finds that of the 2.6 million children living in material deprivation, more than half, 1.5 million, are under the age of 10.
Carried out in partnership with NatCen, the analysis is based upon official Government data on children living in material deprivation, collected before the worst of the cost of living crisis and energy price increase.
According to the charity’s frontline workers, pressure on struggling families is worse than last Christmas and parents are being forced to make ‘desperate’ choices.
It comes as Action for Children launches its annual Secret Santa campaign to help the country’s most vulnerable children.
Key findings from the research include:
- 2 million children live in families that can’t save at least £10 a month (29 per cent).
- 7 million children’s parents can’t replace broken essential electric goods such as a fridge or washing machine (19 per cent).
- 2 million children have parents who can’t keep up with bills (8 per cent).
- 800,000 children’s parents can’t afford to keep their house warm (5 per cent).
- 300,000 children in families can’t afford to eat fresh fruit or vegetables each day (2 per cent).
- 200,000 children are in families that can’t afford to go to a playgroup once a week (4 per cent).
Of nearly 200 Action for Children frontline workers surveyed:
- Three-quarters (75 per cent) said the current pressures on families and young people they support are worse than last year, with more than four in ten (43 per cent) saying it’s much worse.
- A third (32 per cent) said energy bills and three in ten (30 per cent) said food costs were the biggest financial concerns among those they’re supporting right now.
- 15 per cent said getting into – or deeper into - debt is a bigger concern this year compared to last year (15 per cent in 2023 vs 8 per cent in 2022).
One worker described having to step up her support of a pregnant mum who divulged that she ‘hadn’t eaten for three days as she was prioritising the food for her children’.
Another worker talked of a family with three children under 12 who spent a weekend in the dark as they had no money to buy electricity. The children told the support worker, ‘… it had been scary in the night with just candles for light’.
The charity says that many Action for Children workers’ day jobs now increasingly include having to provide poverty relief before any other support, as one admitted that most of their time ‘is taken up by making sure the children have basic provisions and warm clothing.'
Paul Carberry, chief executive of Action for Children, said, ‘The magic of Christmas begins in childhood. But for children on the breadline up and down the UK, it’s anything but magical. How do you give a child a Christmas to remember when you’re going without food so they can eat? How can they experience the joy of Christmas if it’s just another day to go to bed hungry and to wake up cold?
‘We’re seeing children without a bed sleeping on the floor with just blankets, and families phoning us crying because they have no money to feed their children. We know missing out on essentials like these can scar a child’s whole life. This is why the UK Government must do more for them during this brutal and ongoing cost of living crisis, as well as deliver ambitious policies to end child poverty for good.
‘The Chancellor talks about making work pay but our research shows almost two million children in poverty live in families where their parents face at least one significant barrier to work, such as a disability, being a carer or being a lone parent trying to balance work with looking after a young child.
‘Until every family has enough money to keep their child warm and well fed, we will continue to help them. That’s why we’re asking the public to get behind our Secret Santa campaign to help us support our most vulnerable children, not just at Christmas but every day.’
- To become a Secret Santa for Action for Children visit iamsanta.org.uk