Child Poverty Snapshots: The local picture in Wales
In 1999 the UK Government pledged to halve the numbers of children and young people living in poverty in the UK by 2010 and eliminate child poverty by 2020. Significant progress has been made on child poverty in the last 12 years and across the UK almost 1 million children have been lifted out of income poverty. This shows that progress is possible, in fact if the rate of poverty reduction observed over the past decade could be sustained then the 2020 target of eliminating child poverty in the UK would be achieved only seven years later in 2027
Current estimates indicate that approximately 600,000 children live in Wales and that one in three or 200,000 children are living in poverty in Wales, with 90,000 (14%) living in severe poverty.3 On both counts, Wales has the highest rate of child poverty of any nation in the UK.
Moreover, recent forecasts predict that by 2020, 800,000 more children will be growing up in poverty in the UK as a direct impact of rising living costs, high unemployment, cuts in public spending and benefit changes.
Child poverty costs us all, both financially and socially. Childhood should be a time for growth, learning, imagination and joy. Welsh children, some as young as eight years old, have genuine concern about their futures and those of their parents. More than half of Welsh children (53%) in low income families are worried that their parents are finding it harder to pay for everyday necessities like food, heating and clothes.6 A quarter of parents (25%) living on low incomes in Wales report that they are frequently skipping meals and feel they have nothing else left to cut back on. Parents in some of Wales’ poorest families are going without food to ensure they can feed their children and struggling to buy basics like a warm winter coat and new shoes. A fifth of Welsh parents on low incomes say that stress about money affects their relationship with their children.
These experiences of poverty during childhood can have a profound and lasting impact on the child and their family. The persistent ill effects on nervous and stress hormone systems can lead to lifelong problems in learning, behavior and physical and mental condition.8 Children who grow up poor are more likely to leave school without qualifications, have fewer life experiences, reduced aspiration and restricted ability to get a good job. Child poverty creates huge problems for children growing up today and for their futures. It is a key barrier to the adults of the future achieving their potential and participating fully in society. It is simply not sustainable to build a future for Wales on such foundations. Only sustained attention to tackling the causes of child poverty will break the cycle and prevent poverty being passed from generation to generation.
Published : 31st December 2012
Publisher : Save the Children [ More From This Publisher ]
Rights : Save the Children
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