More UK children to face poverty: TUC

Over half a million more British children will be pushed “below the breadline” in the next two years because of the government’s welfare cuts, tax rises and wage freezes, Britain’s largest unions body the Trades Unions Congress (TUC) says.

The TUC, which represents 6.2 million working people and campaigns for a fair deal at work and for social justice, warned that with slow wage growth, 690,000 more children in the UK would be living below the minimum income standard by 2015.

Currently, the breadline level is £12,623 for a single pensioner a year, £23,992 for a single parent with two children and £24,643 for a couple and only child.

The union’s report called “A Bleak Future For Families” also predicted that in just two year time over half of all children in the UK (54.4 percent), equation to almost 7.1 million of the nation’s 13 million youngsters, will be growing up in families with incomes less than the minimum necessary for a decent standard of living.

“Families are suffering the tightest squeeze in their living standards in nearly a century,” said TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady.

“On top of wages that do not keep up with prices, Government policies are making life even more miserable for millions of low to middle-income families through tax increases and cuts in benefits and tax credits.”

Earlier this month, a study suggested that nearly five million people across Britain are struggling to afford nutritious meals.

According to The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) report commissioned by the multinational food manufacturer the Kellogg company, 4.7 million people out of Britain’s 60 million population spend at least 10 percent of their income on food.