It's time the wealthy were prepared to help the poor

Although I'll no longer be commissioner, the work goes on. In the final months of my term, I have been struck by one abiding issue we face as a nation. It is that as the sixth richest economy on the planet, the UK has around 3.5 million children living in poverty, and that figure is climbing.

By this I mean: you were unlikely to have had many Christmas presents unless your parents went into yet more debt to buy them. You were unlikely to have enough changes, or even layers, of clothing to ensure you were warm if the heating had to stay off in your home. You were unlikely to have had friends round for a sleepover because feeding them or allowing them the simple luxury of a hot bath and a warm bed was impossible. You were unlikely to live in a family where every member gets three square meals a day, and unlikely to have a second pair of shoes or a new winter coat when you needed one.