• 600,000 more into absolute poverty in 2023, half children
• Government’s cost-of-living aid insufficient to halt poverty surge
• Calls for immediate policy action to address child poverty crisis

Approximately 600,000 low-income individuals, of which half were minors, fell into absolute poverty in 2023 despite receiving cost-of-living assistance from the Government.

The Government initiated fixed payments to millions of households in 2022 as a response to the exorbitant cost of living and escalating energy expenses.

However, according to the most recent data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), 600,000 individuals, including 300,000 children, slipped into absolute poverty in 2023.

A person is in absolute poverty when they cannot afford to pay for necessities of life, including food, shelter, and other essential expenses.

According to recent data from the DWP, the number of individuals living in absolute poverty after housing expenses increased from 11.4 million in 2022 to 12 million in 2023.

During the same period, the number of minors living in absolute poverty increased from 3.3 million to 3.6 million.

The government cost of living assistance comprised an annual fee of living payment of £650, which was subsequently increased to £900.

Additional assistance was accessible to individuals in categories A through D, including the disability cost of living payment (£150), the pensioner cost of living payment (£300), £400 in energy bill discounts, and £150 in council tax rebates.

However, numerous charitable organizations cautioned the Government that these payments would prove insufficient in preventing many individuals from falling into poverty.

The anti-poverty organization Turn2us’s director of income and external affairs, Claire Atchia McMaster, stated, “The most recent surge in child poverty rates in the United Kingdom should be regarded as a national emergency.” It is intolerable in a nation of our prosperity that millions of children are deprived of necessities such as clothing and sustenance, as this impedes their progress towards achievement.

We concur with the demands for immediate measures to resolve this crisis. Investing in policies that directly assist low-income families is of the utmost importance. This can be achieved by expanding Universal Credit and eliminating punitive measures such as the two-child limit.

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Senior child poverty policy adviser for Save the Children UK, Meghan Meek-O’Connor, stated, “These alarming numbers should serve as a pressing reminder to all of us, but particularly the UK Government, that this cannot continue.” It is inconceivable that children should be deprived of nourishment, shelter, playthings, or bedding.

According to the Department for Work and Pensions, the total number of low-income individuals living in poverty in 2023 would have increased by 1.3 million if not for the cost of living assistance.

Mel Stride, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, stated, “I am well aware that the last few years have been challenging, what with the Covid aftershocks and the Ukraine conflict driving up inflation and cost of living pressures.

“For this reason, we intervened with the most substantial cost-of-living package in Europe, which averaged £3,800 per household; this unprecedented assistance averted the impoverishment of 1.3 million individuals in 2022/23.”

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