Nursery World - Almost 2 million children could be 'trapped in poverty' as work is not the 'silver bullet'

Almost two million UK children could be ‘trapped in poverty’ as their parents face at least one major barrier to ‘working themselves out of hardship’, a new report from Action for Children reveals.

According to Action for Children, 440,000 children in poverty are living in households where one or more parents work full-time, PHOTO: Adobe Stock

Figures released at the launch of the charity’s report, 'All worked out?', show that of the 1.95m children in the UK trapped in poverty, 440,000 of them are living in households where one or more parents work full-time.

The research also found that many of the children in poverty live in families that experience more than one barrier to work, meaning they are even less likely to be able to improve their situation by taking on work.

The analysis identified:

Responding to the Prime Minister’s Questions on 9 November 2022, where he claimed that the best way to ensure children do not grow up in poverty ‘is to ensure that they do not grow up in a workless household’ and creating jobs ‘is the best anti-poverty strategy’, Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, said, ‘We must confront the myth that everyone in poverty can simply work their way out of it.’

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