Children in the North most vulnerable to rising living costs

Researchers in our Cost of Living Research Group have issued a stark warning to government that children living in the North of England are among the most vulnerable to rising living costs.

The Child Poverty and the Cost of Living Crisis report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Child of the North, authored by York researchers and colleagues, shows that child poverty, including fuel poverty and food insecurity, is higher in the North than the rest of England. For many families, the current economic chaos will deepen an enduring child poverty crisis in the region: a crisis we can’t keep ignoring.

The report warns of a growing public health crisis, with immediate and lifelong harms for children: worsening physical and mental health outcomes; undermining children’s learning, social wellbeing and education; and risking lower lifelong health and productivity.

During the pandemic, a drop in median income and the £20 universal credit uplift contributed to a sharp decrease in relative child poverty across the UK, but not in the North: around 900,000 children in the North continue to live in poverty (34% of children in the North compared with 28% in the rest of England).

Between 2014/15 and 2019/20, child poverty increased in every single local authority area in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East: in these areas it is now the highest it has been since 2000/2001.

The report also found that:

• Before the current crisis, around one million households in the North were fuel poor, proportionally more households than in the rest of England – 15% in the North compared to 12%
• In the North, the standing charge for energy prepayment meter customers in Yorkshire and the North East is higher (at around £3.80 per week) than the UK average (of £3.60 per week)
• 23% of children in England who are food insecure miss out on free school meals
• Families in the North are more likely to be living in poor quality, damp homes. Before living costs started to rise, over 98,500 homes in the North already had some form of damp and 1 million homes in the North failed 'decent homes' criteria
• The current crisis raises particular risks for young children and babies as families struggle to make ends meet: each 1% increase in child poverty is associated with an extra 5.8 infant deaths per 100,000 live births
• The shame, anxiety and worry faced by young people living in families on a low-income can make it difficult to concentrate in school, to feel included, and to afford the resources needed to learn well and join in with friends, which undermines educational outcomes and social wellbeing

The report makes 5 key policy  recommendations to ensure that:

• Families with children have enough money and security of income to meet their basic needs. Increase benefits in line with inflation, pause the Universal Credit five-week minimum wait, and consult on wider reforms to the social security system in order to invest in the reduction of child poverty.
• Children have enough healthy food to eat. Expand Free School Meals (FSMs) to all children whose families are in receipt of universal credit, and support food provisioning for children under school age by expanding the Healthy Start Scheme to all families on universal credit.
• Children are able to live in warm homes. Extend financial support beyond the current social security system to groups most in need, introduce specific financial support for families using prepayment meters, and consult on the introduction of a mandatory social tariff to guarantee an affordable price of energy for fuel poor and vulnerable households.
• National government makes the best use of existing available data to support families living on a low income now. Immediately resolve data-sharing issues between the Department for Work and Pensions, NHS Business Authority and Department of Health and Social Care.
• There is a joined-up and place-based approach within national government to address child poverty and the cost of living crisis. Prioritise the development of an integrated health inequalities strategy as part of ‘levelling up’, with an explicit focus on children and addressing child poverty.