Charity launches appeal to help families in poverty
The Save the Children charity has launched its first UK campaign to help the number of families living in poverty. Drawing on figures from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), the charity claimed 3.5million children are living in poverty, reports BBC news. Poverty is defined as a family having an annual income of £17,000 or less. The charity wants to government to focus on benefits for low-paid families, but is also calling on employers to ease the situation. As part of the campaign employers are being urged to pay a living wage and to pay above the minimum wage. In a poll of 1,500 children aged 8 to 16, Save the Children says 19% of children in poverty have missed out on school trips or gone without new shoes. Over half (58%) of children also said they were aware their parents were under financial stress and were struggling to pay for everything. MFM has previously reported that only 6% of new mums think the government supports them.Save the Children wants working parents to keep more of their earnings before benefits are withdrawn and is appealing to the government to pay 80% of the poorest families childcare costs. The government said it was committed to eradicating child poverty. A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said, “We want to take a new approach by tackling the root causes including worklessness, educational failure and family breakdown.”
