More action needed on in-work poverty
The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission responds to the latest poverty figures published today
Responding to today’s Households Below Average Income figures, Rt Hon Alan Milburn, the Chair of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission commented:
Today’s figures show that progress towards reducing child poverty is at risk of stalling. Family incomes are falling as inflation outpaces wages and benefits. While it’s good that the incomes of families at the bottom haven’t been going down faster than those in the middle, the 300,000 increase in absolute poverty is the biggest for two decades, and two thirds of poor children are now in working households. More must be done by government and employers alike to ensure that in-work poverty becomes a thing of the past. Action is needed to put a floor on the living standards of children in households on the lowest incomes. It would be wrong for the poorest in society to pay the biggest price for the country’s economic problems.