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Severe poverty in the UK
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A NEW report reveals the shocking fact that there are nearly 1.5 million children living in severe poverty in the UK, the 4th richest country in the world. For a couple with a child that means living on average of £7000 a year, or less than £134 a week. This is well below the national average income of £19,000 a year.
An income of £7000 means that a family has only £19 per day to cover electricity and gas, phones, other bills, food, clothes, washing, transport, health needs as well as activities for children and all other essential items. Save the Children believes it is an outrage that in such a wealthy country, parents are struggling to get by on such low incomes and children are missing out on basic things like living in a warm house, having a proper diet or going on a school trip.
Child poverty has been one of Gordon Brown's flagship issues and he has repeatedly said that children will be at the heart of his Government's policy.
However, current predictions show that the Government is way off track on meeting their targets of halving child poverty by 2010. Radical action by the new Prime Minister is needed to tackle The report - Severe poverty in the UK - also reveals that:
The region with by far the highest levels of severe poverty is London where more than 1 in 6 children are in severe poverty.
Eighty-four (84%) of families in severe poverty cannot make regular savings of £10 or more per month. Seventy-four (74%) cannot replace any worn out furniture.
Using a new measure that combines household incomes with adult and child deprivation, the report calculates that 10.5 per cent of children or 1.4 million live in severe poverty.
Jasmine Whitbread, Chief Executive of Save the Children, said: "We can't let these children slip below the radar. They're the children who are hardest to reach, need the most help and the greatest investment to lift them out of poverty. As part of thA campaign to End Child Poverty, Save the Children urges the Government to tackle severe poverty now if it wants to stand a chance of meeting its target of halving child poverty by 2010."
Save the Children is calling on the Government to:
Invest a further £4 billion to ensure that their target of halving child poverty by 2010 is met.
Help those on low incomes cover expensive times of year with the introduction of seasonal grants.
Implement an action plan on severe child poverty.
Reform the social fund to ensure that it is an effective anti-poverty tool.
They must:- Introduce a measure of severe child poverty and ensure policies are targeted at those in severe poverty- Invest significant resources to promote take up and knowledge of benefit and tax credit entitlements.
Source: International Save the Children Alliance
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