More than one in four children are living in poverty in Wales, according to a damning new report. The study, by Loughborough University commissioned for the Wales Child Poverty Eradication Network, found that child poverty was highest in Blaenau Gwent (30.3%) and Ceredigion (30%).
However, in Monmouthshire, the local authority with the lowest rates, there are more than one in five children (21.4%) living in poverty. Dr Steffan Evans of the Bevan Foundation said the new data shows child poverty is a Wales-wide issue and needed to be viewed as a national problem.
Across Wales, almost 28% of children are living in poverty after housing costs. This rises to 80% of children living in poverty in Welsh working households before housing costs - the second highest in the UK behind the south east of England.
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Children from larger families are significantly more likely to live in poverty. In 2021/22, the UK poverty rate among children with two or more siblings was 42%, compared with 23% and 22% among children in families with one or two children.
When compared to the rest of the UK, Wales was below the UK average (29.2%) but higher than Scotland (24.5%), Northern Ireland (22.2%), the south east (25.2%) and south west of England (26.9%).
The Welsh Government said it was doing everything it can to support people through the cost-of-living crisis and had provided more than £3.3bn in support via targeted programmes and schemes between 2022 and 2024. Welsh Conservatives have criticised the Welsh Government saying a "mismanagement" of the Welsh economy had left Wales poorer.
Head of policy for the Bevan Foundation Dr Steffan Evans said: “This new analysis highlights how poverty is a problem in all Welsh communities. Blaenau Gwent and Ceredigion are very different in many ways but with more than three in ten children living in poverty both local authorities, the latest data highlights the need to view poverty as a national problem not an urban/ rural problem or a valleys/ cities problem.”
Claire Atchia McMaster, director of external affairs at national charity Turn2us, said: “Poverty is not a problem of the past and although these statistics are shocking, we believe poverty can be solved.
“The fact that seven in ten children experiencing poverty are in working households is a symptom of low paid unstable jobs and benefits that haven’t kept up with the true cost of living. This study shows that financial security goes beyond people’s ability to budget or their individual drive to succeed, it’s our economy and social safety net that aren’t working properly.
“These findings provide a compelling reason for the Welsh Government to make urgently needed updates to its Child Poverty Strategy, because even one child without enough to eat is one too many in 2023.”
Dr Evans said: “At a UK level the End Child Poverty Coalition is calling for the two-child limit for those claiming Universal Credit to be scrapped, given the clear link between the policy and child poverty rates in larger families.
“In Wales, the Welsh Government is currently working on updating its Child Poverty Strategy. The latest analysis makes it clear that this new strategy must be accompanied by action that will help put money in families’ pockets and improve access to services.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We are doing everything we can to support people and families through this cost-of-living crisis by providing target help to those who need it the most and through programmes and schemes which put money back in people’s pockets. During 2022-23 and 2023-24, this support was worth more than £3.3bn.
“The key levers for tackling child poverty – powers over the tax and welfare system – sit with the UK Government and we continue to call on UK Ministers to remove the two child limit and the benefit cap which are having such a devastating impact on families.
“We want to create a Wales where every child and young person can prosper. We will shortly launch a consultation on a new Child Poverty Strategy which is committed to addressing child poverty as an absolute priority and which will shape our cross government objectives and create a more equal Wales.”
Welsh Conservative Shadow Social Justice Minister Mark Isherwood MS said: “While the UK Conservative Government has boosted cost of living support worth £3,300 per household, in Labour-run Wales pay packets have shrunk by £3,000 a year compared with elsewhere in the UK.
“The Labour Government’s mismanagement of our economy has left us poorer and in the unique and unacceptable position of having the highest levels of poverty in the United Kingdom.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “We have helped nearly two million people, including 400,000 children, out of absolute poverty after housing costs since 2010 and have launched a £94billion cost of living support package worth around £3,300 per household.
“In 2021/22, children living in workless households were around five times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than those where all adults work.
“This is why we are boosting our childcare offer to help more parents return to work and keep more of their earnings while making an unprecedented increase to the National Living Wage.”
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