child poverty in the UK on the rise?
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) in the UK warns that child poverty will increase, rather than decrease, as a result of the government’s austerity measures and welfare reform. Although the government has set itself a legally binding target of reducing the number of relatively poor children by 2020, IFS warns that the number may increase by 500.000 and reach 3 million in 2015. By 2020, this number is expected to have increased to 3.3 million. Child poverty, in this case, is measured as the proportion of the UK’s children living in a family with an income below 60% of the country’s median income. Despite these concerning warning notes, the DWP does not seem to be impressed and hold strong belief that the Universal Credit will make a positive and substantial contribution to reducing child poverty.
