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One in ten children still living in poverty
08/12/2005 14:12:00
No significant gains have been made to reduce child poverty, a leading charity has warned.
A new report by Save the Children found that one in ten child in England, Scotland and Wales are still living in poverty.
This suggests that no real improvements have been achieved since the charity last warned in 2003 that up to a million children were in urgent need of help, meaning that many children continue to go without a hot meal or warm coat.
"People find it difficult to accept there is poverty in Britain," said Jasmine Whitbread, Save the Children's chief executive.
"But the reality is one in ten children are experiencing severe poverty - that means going without a winter coat, a pair of shoes or a hot meal and with little hope of doing well at school."
Furthermore, the charity found little evidence that families could reverse their situation alone, warning the government that it must take urgent action to reduce poverty.
Many of the poorest families are unable to save as little as £8 a month, while two-thirds had been unable to put anything aside in the past year.
The charity also found that many families were struggling to manage on £132 a week, often surviving at this level for a long period of time.
Save the Children is calling on the government to establish a Minimum Income Commission as part of its long-term commitment towards reducing child poverty by 2020.
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