From going to school hungry to having no winter coat: the child poverty problem is only getting worse

The Resolution Foundation’s warnings highlight an emerging crisis we already knew about – that government policy is pushing children into poverty, writes social affairs correspondent May Bulman

The Resolution Foundation warns that the proportion of children living in relative poverty is on course to hit 37 per cent (Alamy)

Today’s forecast from the Resolution Foundation makes for gloomy reading. The think tank warns that the proportion of children living in relative poverty is on course to hit 37 per cent – more than one in three youngsters across the country – by the end of the current parliament.

The figures speak for themselves. Going to school hungry, having to go out without a proper winter coat or living in insecure and unsuitable homes are not just damaging for children in their immediate future, but also highly damaging for their long-term development.

How can a child be expected to flourish academically if they are deprived of basic needs such as breakfast in the morning?

But what is most disturbing about this report is that it only marks the deepening of an emerging crisis we already knew about – that government policy is pushing children into poverty.

The Resolution Foundation cites as major causes the benefit freeze, which is entering its final year this April, and the controversial two-child limit on benefits – both welfare policies which have been subject to much scrutiny since they were introduced.

Indeed, charities have warned repeatedly in recent years about the damaging impact these measures have been having on children across the country.

A report by the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation last year found that Britain’s record on tackling poverty had reached a turning point and was at risk of unravelling, with nearly 400,000 more children living in poverty than five years ago.

A study by the End Child Poverty coalition estimated that child poverty in Manchester and Birmingham stood at 44 per cent and 43 per cent respectively – while the London borough of Tower Hamlets reached 53 per cent.

But their warnings have fallen on deaf ears and the problem has continued to worsen.

Britain is now on the cusp of a child poverty crisis – but whether that prompts ministers to reassess their welfare cuts is another matter.