Child poverty in the UK 2013

Child poverty in the UK remains at a high level and is well documented in the End Child Poverty report and maps published this month. The Marmot review of health inequalities found that that child poverty has a severe impact on children’s health, and called for a strategy to give every child the best start in life.

End Child Poverty calls for Government action from at national, regional and local levels to achieve the target of the Child Poverty Act 2010 to end child poverty by 2020.

There are four dimensions of poverty captured under the Child Poverty Act, each with a target to be met by 2020. They are:
• Relative low income poverty (below 60 per cent median household income)
• Absolute low income poverty (below 60 per cent of median household income held constant at 2010/11 level)
• Persistent low income poverty (below 60 per cent of median household income for three years or longer)
• Material deprivation combined with relative low income (below 70 per cent median household income and suffering from inability to afford essential spending needs)