UK Child Poverty Reaches Record High Amid Cost of Living Crisis

Official figures reveal a significant increase in children and families falling into absolute and relative poverty, with 4.3 million children now living below the poverty line.

About 300,000 more UK children fell into absolute poverty in 2022-23, with 600,000 more people affected overall.
4.3 million children are now living in relative poverty, the highest figure since records began.
The cost of living crisis has exacerbated food insecurity, with 41% of universal credit claimants unable to afford sufficient food.
Campaigners call for an overhaul of the welfare system and the scrapping of policies such as the two-child benefit limit.
Government interventions have been criticized as insufficient, with calls for increased benefit rates to reflect the real cost of living.