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NEARLY two million children could be trapped in poverty because their parents face at least one major barrier to work, new research by a charity revealed today.
Action for Children said the research clashes with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s statement that creating jobs “is the best anti-poverty strategy.”
Researchers found that work is often not a route out of hardship for families where both parents or a single parent is already working full-time, have long-term sickness or disability, or caring responsibilities.
About 440,000 children are in poverty despite their parents or single parent working full-time, while an additional 641,000 youngsters are in poverty where at least one parent is disabled.
The research found that 1.36 million children in poverty are in families with one barrier to work, while 495,000 youngsters are in families with two barriers, and 95,000 are in those that face three.
The benefit cap, which limits the total benefits a household can receive even if their entitlement would otherwise be higher, is a “big driver” of deeper poverty, the report found.
It recommends abolishing the cap completely and raising the child element of universal credit by at least £15 a week.
This would lift 340,000 children out of poverty, while costing the government £4 billion.
Imran Hussain, Action for Children director of policy, said work is not the “silver bullet” for poverty it is often said to be.
“To improve the lives and life chances of all children we need to be honest about why so many are growing up in poverty and hardship,” he said.
“We must confront the myth that everyone in poverty can simply work their way out of it.
“We need more realism and less rhetoric from government in how we talk about the relationship between poverty and work.
“And we need a social safety net that ensures families can meet their essential costs and which restores the link between a family’s needs and the support that is available to them.”
A government spokesperson insisted that “the best way out of poverty is through good work, better skills and higher wages; our network of Jobcentres continues to help millions, including parents, to access flexible job opportunities and higher-paid roles through job progression support.”
