Persistent Poverty and Children's Cognitive Development: Evidence From the UK Millennium Cohort Study

Legal context

The UK Child Poverty Act (2010) enshrines in law the obligation to end child poverty by 2020. It created separate targets for reducing "relative poverty", "material deprivation", "absolute poverty" and "persistent poverty", thus recognising the need to address multiple aspects of poverty. More recently (and hence not cited), the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 abolished the Child Poverty Act, including the targets to reduce poverty and the measure of poverty based on family income.

Theoretical and research basis

There is evidence from UK and international studies that children born into poverty or low socio-economic status demonstrate enduring educational and cognitive disadvantages throughout life. The causal link between poverty and poorer child development can be found even when controlling for variables which often co-exist with poverty. Poverty experienced during the early years also has a detrimental impact on adult outcomes.