Child poverty: One in four Falkirk youngsters going to bed with an empty stomach

Children’s charity Barnardo’s said youngsters “can’t be happy and healthy if they are going to bed in a cold home, on an empty stomach”.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show 6247 Falkirk children aged under 16 were living in relative poverty in the year to March 2023.

It meant 22.7 per cent of children in the area were in a family whose income was below 60 per cent of average household income before housing costs. They also claimed child benefit and at least one other household benefit.

This was up from 21.9 per cent the year before and the highest rate since comparable records began in 2014-15.

Of all the children facing poverty in Falkirk, 1842 were below school age.

Lynn Perry, CEO of Barnardo’s, said: “Living in poverty means children miss out on opportunities and the activities that make childhood fun and support their development.

“The Government needs to urgently focus on reducing child poverty.

“That should start with a strategy for ending child poverty, including ending the two-child limit ‘sibling penalty’ on benefit payments and ensuring struggling families can afford essentials like food and household bills.”

Across the UK, there were 2.5 million children living in low-income families before housing costs. However, the number hit a record high and was nearly double after housing costs were considered, with 4.3 million children in relative poverty.

Alison Garnham, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, said: “In a general election year, nothing should be more important to our political leaders than making things better for the country’s poorest kids.

“We know that change is possible, but we need to see a commitment from all parties to scrap the two-child limit and increase child benefits.

“Anything less would be a betrayal of Britain’s children.”

Overall, there were 194,592 children experiencing poverty across Scotland last year, who accounted for 21.3 per cent of all children in the country.

The charity Children 1st said the cost-of-living crisis continues to have a devastating impact on families it supports, with some struggling to fill their cupboards with food or replace children’s shoes when they become too tight.

Mary Glasgow, chief executive of Children 1st said: “Children are in crisis. With one in four children living in poverty and no sign of improvement, the lasting impact on their safety, health and opportunities could be devastating.

“Our dedicated teams are seeing a huge increase in families turning to us for help. With the cost-of-living crisis and cuts to public services, there is nowhere else for them to go."

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish Government was doing “everything in our power and limited budget” to tackle poverty, adding the latest statistics “reinforce the urgency of that mission”.

She added: “Modelling published last month estimates that Scottish Government policies will keep 100,000 children out of relative poverty in 2024-25.

“An estimated 40,000 children could be lifted out of poverty in Scotland immediately if the UK Government made key changes to Universal Credit. That includes abolishing the two-child limit and introducing an ‘essentials guarantee’ to ensure payments cover the cost of food, household bills and transport.”