Benefit cuts since 2010 increased UK child poverty in run-up to pandemic, says IFS

theguardian.com:

Benefit cuts imposed by the Conservatives since 2010 pushed up child poverty before the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report warning that poorer families are also among the most exposed to the cost of living crisis.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said relative child poverty rose to the highest level since 2007 immediately before Covid-19 hit, as the incomes of poorer families with children fell further behind due to austerity.

It said the relative poverty rate – defined as the fraction of people with an income below 60% of the national median – increased from 27% of all households in 2013 to 31% in 2019, just before the pandemic struck.

Drawing a direct link with austerity-era benefit cuts, it said child poverty rose at significantly faster rates for larger families with three or more children, with a rise from 34% to 47% over the same time period.

Policies introduced by George Osborne, including the benefit cap and two-child limit, meant larger families with children had suffered larger than average cuts to the value of benefits than average.

Despite the rise in relative child poverty, the IFS said there had however been a dramatic decline in material deprivation, an alternative measurement of poverty, helped by falling prices for food, energy and other basic essentials in recent years.

Material deprivation – when families can’t afford common items and activities – declined by a quarter in the six years running up to the pandemic, falling from 24% in 2013-14 to 18% in 2019-20.

This probably reflected a 17% drop in the real price of gas over the period, as well as falling prices for clothing and unprocessed food, helping families to cope while on a tight income.

However, the thinktank warned conditions had dramatically