Despite progress that has been made, 2.8 million children are still in poverty in the UK, meaning that there is much more to be done to meet the Government’s extremely challenging ambitions. Child poverty is a result of a number of complex and varied factors which act at both the individual and community level, however there are some key characteristics which put children and families at risk of living in poverty and deprivation. Poverty reduction strategies will need to consider what policies it can put in place to address the particular circumstances of these ‘at risk’ groups and ensure sustainable routes out of poverty for all children.
Families with the following characteristics have a higher than average risk of poverty:
- children in workless families, where the risk of poverty remains high, at 58 per cent, which is considerably above the average of 22 per cent;
- children in couple families where one adult works part-time have a 44 per cent risk of poverty;
- more than a third of all ethnic minority families live in poverty;
- children in families with one or more disabled adults face a high risk of poverty at 31 per cent;
- children in families with 4 or more children have a 40 per cent risk of poverty; and
- children who live in inner London have a high risk of poverty at 35 per cent.
Source: Households Below Average Income 2005-06, Regional data 2003/04-2005/06.
Among children in poverty in 2005/06, half live in working families and half in workless ones. A child's risk of low income varies greatly depending on how much paid work the family does. These risks have fallen in recent years for both workless and part-time working families. However, unless all adults in the family are working (and at least one of them full time), the risks of being in low income are still substantial: 85% for unemployed families, 75% for other workless families and (notably) 30% for those where the adults are part-working.
Three quarters of children in workless households in Wales are in lone parent households. Most of the lone parents on low incomes are not working. In contrast, most of the couples with children on low incomes do have someone in paid work. The net result is that most of the children in low income households are either in couple families where someone is in paid work or in workless lone parent families.
Children from ethnic minorities face a particularly high risk of growing up in poverty. A recent review of poverty and ethnicity research conducted by Essex University concluded that there are stark differences in poverty rates according to ethnic group. Risks of poverty are highest for Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Black Africans, but are also above average for Caribbean, Indian and Chinese people. Muslims face much higher poverty risks than other religious groups.
The differences in poverty rates are found across poverty measures (income poverty, material deprivation) and across sub-populations (older people, children). Over half of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black African children are growing up in poverty compared with 19% of white children. This is closely linked to labour market disadvantage and in particular the significant barriers that some ethnic minority groups face in entering and progressing in work. There are also differences in the characteristics of poor families in different ethnic groups. For example, lone parent families account for only a small share of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi children in poverty, but they make up over two-thirds of Black Caribbean and Black African children in poverty.
When the contribution of individual characteristics (such as fewer qualifications) to employment disadvantage is analysed, there are some unexplained outcomes. For example, Black Africans have very high rates of higher education qualifications, but also suffer from high rates of unemployment and poor occupational outcomes. This 'ethnic penalty' includes the effects of discrimination. There also appear to be 'ethnic penalties' in access to social security benefits and other financial support.
The Joseph Rowntree study concludes that:
- Employment policies need to tackle discrimination and support job retention and progression.
- Income maintenance policies need a greater focus on take-up of benefits among those eligible.
- Analysis of income at the household level could effectively inform and monitor policy on minority ethnic groups' poverty risks.
- Analysis of the different and complex routes into poverty for different ethnic groups is needed, and research into whether the experience of poverty means different things to different groups.
Of children in poverty in workless couple families, the majority have at least one disabled member in the family, mostly a disabled parent. Children in families with at last one disabled adult face a higher than average risk of poverty (31%) and account for 700,000 of all children in poverty. More than 20% of children in Wales have at least one disabled parent. Though not all of these children are disadvantaged, some are, both in their lower standard of living (among children in poverty, the proportion with a disabled parent rises to 30%) and in their additional family responsibilities and reduced opportunities. The high number of children in this situation may just be a reflection of the high rates of working-age disability in Wales; but given how many children are affected, it is a powerful reason for developing a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy that includes working-age adults as well as pensioners and children .
Campaigners also argue that having a disabled child is a risk factor for child poverty. Current measures of child poverty do not account for the extra costs of bringing up a child with a disability estimated at between £68 and £82 per week. These extra costs include travel and other costs related to hospital appointments and admissions, bedding and laundry equipment, extra or replacement furniture, heating and specialised equipment and adaptations. Disabled Children Matter Wales argue that if these costs were taken into account in poverty statistics, the percentage of one-parent families with disabled children who are living below the poverty line would be 8% higher.
Children from lower income households are more likely to report long standing illness or disability and mental health issue, reflecting a two-way relationship between low income and disability. Parents of disabled children face significant barriers to accessing paid employment. There are significant challenges to combining work and caring including the availability of appropriate childcare, taking time off for appointments and hospital admissions, financial problems in the benefit system and lack of understanding from employers.
Contact a Family Wales recommends:
- A review of the financial support available to families of disabled children and increases in the amounts allowable for childcare to parents of disabled children through the Tax Credits system;
- Increasing the funding to childminders and other childcare staff to develop their skills and experience in caring for disabled children, to ensure a substantial increase in the availability of all types of childcare provision for disabled children across Wales;
- Ensuring that all extended school activities are accessible to disabled children;
- Working with employers, trade unions and Citizen Advice Bureau to promote awareness and uptake of extra entitlements to parental leave and flexible working available to parents of disabled children;
- Benefit take up campaigns that specifically target families with disabled children;
- Increasing the provision of home visiting and out reach money advice services to improve access for families of disabled children.
The UK has one of the highest poverty rates for children in large families compared with other countries. The proportion of large families has declined over the last 60 years with only a third of children living in a family with three of more dependent children and only 10 per cent in a family with four or more children. However, in 2004/5, 50 percent of children in 4+ child families were poor compared with only 23% in one-child families. Children in 4+ families constitute 19 percent of all poor children.
Parents of children in large families are; less likely to be working; to come from ethnic minorities; have had their first child at younger ages; be less educated and have a young child. All these characteristics are associated with a higher risk of poverty. However, larger families have a higher risk of child poverty independent of all these factors.
Bradshaw et al (2006) argue that the tax and benefit system in the UK is not particularly sensitive to the needs of larger families. For example, child benefit is paid at a higher rate for the first child and the Working Tax Credit is paid at a standard rate regardless of the number of children. Reducing child poverty in large families is most likely to be brought about by changes to the tax and benefit system, for example increasing Child Benefit to the same level per child and increasing the benefit for the third and subsequent child.