According to the survey of 1,200 children’s workers, 60 per cent of children they are supporting are living in this lowest standard of poverty.
In total those surveyed support 200,000 children living in poverty.
This is a “significant increase” over the last two years, according to children’s charity Buttle UK which carried out the survey.
When it polled children’s workers in 2021 the proportion of children living in destitution was just over a third, and in 2022 the level was 45 per cent.
The charity said that the cost-of-living crisis is a major factor in the increase in destitution, where the level of poverty is so extreme children are going without essentials to eat, stay warm and clean.
“I recently delivered a food parcel to a family of five, one parent and four children,” said one worker.
“Within minutes the children were rummaging through the bags and actually opened a tin of beans and started to eat them cold from the tin. It was heartbreaking to see.”
Another said: “A young person could not attend an interview for employment as he could not pay the bus fare and had no interview clothes.
“He also advised us that he knew he needed a haircut and looked scruffy but could not afford one and said he just knew he would be judged.
“The same boy was admitted to hospital after fainting several times and disclosed that he had not eaten for four days.”
Our State of Child Poverty 2023 report reveals a significantincrease in children living in extreme poverty right here in the UK. The research has just been published and is available to read now:https://t.co/3DA2A0PMit pic.twitter.com/RF5WjJ64ur
— Buttle UK (@ButtleUK) August 18, 2023
Buttle UK is urging the government to lift the two-child universal credit limit and guarantee children will have access to essentials.
“The increase in children and young people living in destitution is stark and worrying,” said Buttle UK chief executive Joseph Howes.
“Our report demonstrates the catastrophic impact of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, which have meant more and more children are having to go without food, and the situations these challenges are creating are preventing them from having any chance to reach their potential at school.”
The survey also found that three in five children need help from food banks and the same proportion need support to find accommodation. A similar proportion are living in households that are unable to meet gas and electricity costs.
