South West has suffered a 30% rise in child poverty in working households since 2010
- TUC says a “toxic combination” of pay stagnation, rising insecure work and cuts to social security have had a “devastating impact on family budgets”
- Union body calls for an urgent economic reset and a government that “makes work pay”
Since 2010, the South West has suffered a 30% increase in child poverty for working households, according to new TUC analysis published today (Friday).
The analysis shows that, for households with at least one parent in work, the number of kids living in poverty in the South West increased from 167,500 in 2010 to 218,300 in 2023 – a rise of 50,800 or 30%.
1 in 5 (21.5%) kids in working households in the South West are now growing up in poverty.
Toxic combination
The TUC says that a “toxic combination” of wage stagnation, rising insecure work and cuts to social security has had a “devastating impact” on family budgets.
Real wages are still worth less today than in 2008. And the union body estimates that, if wages had grown at their pre-financial crisis trend since the Tories took power, the average worker would be over £14,000 a year better off.
Separate analysis from the TUC shows that the number of people in insecure work has increased by nearly 1 million during the Conservatives’ time in office to a record 4.1 million.
Economic reset
The TUC says Britain urgently needs an economic reset.
It highlighted the importance of Labour’s New Deal for Working People and Green Prosperity Plan in creating good jobs and helping make work pay.
And it called on political parties to make reducing child poverty a national priority.
TUC regional spokesperson Ines Lage said:
“No child in our region should be growing up in poverty.
“But under the Conservatives we have seen a huge in rise in working families being pushed into hardship.
“A toxic combination of pay stagnation, rising insecure work and cuts to social security has had a devastating impact on family budgets.
“We urgently need an economic reset and a government that will make work pay. Reducing child poverty must be a priority in the years ahead.”
- Children in poverty in working households by English region
|
Region |
2010 |
2023 |
Increase 2010-2023 |
|
|
Number |
Percentage |
|||
|
North East |
83,400 |
119,900 |
36,500 |
44% |
|
North West |
266,700 |
383,500 |
116,800 |
44% |
|
Yorkshire & Humber |
208,900 |
253,900 |
45,000 |
22% |
|
East Midlands |
137,800 |
218,000 |
80,200 |
58% |
|
West Midlands |
231,000 |
358,500 |
127,500 |
55% |
|
Eastern England |
186,400 |
238,400 |
52,000 |
28% |
|
London |
397,500 |
523,700 |
126,200 |
32% |
|
South East |
264,600 |
403,200 |
138,600 |
52% |
|
South West |
167,500 |
218,300 |
50,800 |
30% |
Methodology
The figures in the release are for the government’s relative low-income measure of child poverty, with a household income threshold set at 60% of median income after housing costs.
The analysis uses the UK Family Resources Survey (FRS) to estimate child poverty. This is the same source as the UK Government uses in its official Households Below Average Income (HBAI) poverty statistics.
A single year of FRS is not a large enough sample to produce reliable statistics for child poverty at sub-UK level (the English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Therefore this analysis combines 3 years of FRS for each of the figures presented.
The older set of figures (from around the start of the period of Conservative-led government) are from a combined dataset of 2009/20, 2010/11 and 2011/12, while the newer set of figures use the data from 2019/20, 2021/22 and 2022/23. (We do not use the data for 2020/21 because data collection for that year was adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic).
The number of children in poverty in working families is grossed up to a regional/national level using the grossing factors in the FRS dataset. Then the grossed-up number of children is divided by 3 in each case to convert from a combined 3-year estimate to a one-year estimate of child poverty levels.
The figures published here show the percentage increase in the number of children in poverty between 2009/10-2011/12 and 2019/20-2022/23.
Data provided from Landman Economics
- Growth in insecure work: for more information, see the TUC story from earlier this month: www.tuc.org.uk/news/tuc-number-people-insecure-work-reaches-record-41-million
- About the TUC: The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together the 5.5 million working people who make up our 48 member unions. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living.
Contacts:
TUC press office
media@tuc.org.uk
020 7467 1248
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