50% of children from lone-parent families in poverty

The levels of child poverty in the UK continues to grow. About 4.1 million children in the UK now live in poverty, and of those, about 2 million of them are from homes run by lone-parents. This means that 1 in 2 children from single-parent homes live in poverty as their parent can’t make end meet. Only about 25% of children from couples families are living in poverty. In addition, about 1 in 4 people in the UK is entire poverty, no matter their age.

In total, child poverty in the UK is up by about 25 per cent since 2011, or 400,000 more children are in poverty in 2017. The youth are feeling the brunt of Brexit, slow wages, and high inflation. Even with the strong economy, poverty is a major problem in Britain.

Causes of poverty of children

Experts say many things; there is no one cause. Child poverty may be coming from any of the following issues. Or they all contribute to poverty in the UK.

-50 percent of children in poverty are from lone parent households, so the family one has one source of income.
-Lone parents are often earning less wages according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report. Wages are about 30 percent lower than two-parent households.
-Local welfare has been cut by councils, with now about one quarter of councils not paying out any emergency grants. This causes more to struggle to pay their rent, bills, and provide food.
-Universal Credit sanctions and delays are causing short term hardships.
-Flat wages from employers is barely keeping up with inflation.

There are many reasons for poverty in the UK. However with child poverty increasing, and about 15 per cent food insecure, the problem is becoming worse and hitting crisis levels. Parents are becoming unable to pay the bills and provide for their children.

Not only in child poverty increasing. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation also shows that about 20 percent of the entire population is in poverty. This is one out of every 5 people in the UK. There are pensioners, refugees, two-parent households, older people, and others who are all struggling. Child poverty is but one concern.

What to do with children in poverty?

All throughout this site we have information on government schemes for paying bills, charities, churches, Salvation Army programmes, and other services. The aim is to help families on a low income pay their bills, get food, and address other needs. The schemes can also help lone-parents as well.

While the Department for Work and Pensions disagrees with the increasing levels of child poverty, they do offer resources as well to the poor. They offer government benefits in partnership with local councils. They are also a resource for budgeting, employment, and other programmes for struggling households.

The bottom line is this is a tragedy for the UK. A child should never suffer due to the hardship of their parent(s).