Fifth of children living in families with low incomes
More children were living in low-income families in Scarborough last year, new figures show.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation think tank has called on the Government to raise Universal Credit to stop child poverty compounding the “human suffering” of the coronavirus pandemic, following an increase in the proportion of children in low-income families across Great Britain.
A family is defined as lowincome if they earn less than 60% of the median income – a measure of average earnings which takes the middle point – before housing costs are taken into account, which is currently £308 per week.
In Scarborough, 20.6% of children under 16 were living in families with relative low incomes in 2018-19, Department for Work and Pensions figures show.
That was an increase compared to the 19.5% recorded in 2017-18, and means 3,595 children in the area now come from low-income families.
A family has to have claimed Universal Credit,
Tax Credits or Housing Benefit at some point in the year to be counted in the statistics.
Helen Barnard, acting director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said an uplift of £20 per week for families with children claiming Universal Credit would keep many from being pulled into poverty.
A government spokesman said the number of children and pensioners in absolute poverty has fallen by 200,000 compared to 2010. He added: “This government is wholly committed to supporting the lowest-paid families.”