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A new survey published on Universal Children’s Day (Monday 20th November) reveals that parents living below the poverty line struggle desperately to make ends meet at Christmas and their children are missing out on basic items this winter. It is an outrage that in the UK, one of Europe’s strongest economies, parents are being forced to make impossible choices between such basic provisions as providing a hot meal for their children or putting on the heating.

The survey of 1500 parents on low incomes reveals that parents find the costs associated with winter, such as increasing fuel bills and the need for winter clothing, put their already stretched budgets under immense financial pressure. The majority of parents say that they go into debt to make ends meet. 1 in 5 said that financial pressures put their own relationships with their children under stress.

Save the Children, as part of the campaign to End Child Poverty, is calling for the Government to introduce Seasonal Grants to help low-income families at the most difficult times of year. These grants alone could lift 440,000 children out of poverty.

Judy, a mother of two living below the poverty line, said: “This winter we’ll find it hard to make ends meet. By the time the bills are done we don’t have much left and it’s hard to get by. Some weeks if the bills are particularly expensive it feels like a choice between paying the bills or getting enough shopping. There are times when we run out of gas and I need to borrow money so that there will be hot water when the children get up in the morning.”

Jasmine Whitbread, Chief Executive of Save the Children, said: “Children are facing another cold Christmas. It is outrageous that families in the UK are struggling to afford basic things like proper food or heating their home. The UK is a wealthy country yet we have one of the highest rates of child poverty in Europe. Gordon Brown must recognise that for the Government to get back on track in its ambition to end child poverty, greater investment is essential.”

The survey reveals:

• 85% of low-income parents say that basic items such as bills, clothes and nutritious food are the most expensive items related to bringing up a child.
• 77% of families think winter and Christmas is a particularly expensive time of year.
• Two thirds of parents say that they often go into debt to make ends meet.
• Over a quarter of parents on low incomes say that their children miss out on basics such as having fresh fruit every day, essential shoes and clothes and living in a warm home in winter.
• Almost one third of parents felt that their relationship with their partner was under stress and almost 20% felt that their relationship with their children was under stress due to financial pressures.
• 91% of parents say they often go without to make sure their children have enough.
• Among those who said they experienced major financial hardship, 20% of parents said that basic household issues, such as a washing machine breaking down or household bills piling up had been a cause.
• Almost one in ten parents (8%) said they had borrowed from a doorstep lender to make ends meet.

Save the Children is calling on Gordon Brown today to put more realistic resources in place for the poorest children in the UK. Save the Children is calling for:

• The introduction of two Seasonal Grants to support families at the points of year when they are facing acute financial pressure. These grants alone could lift 440,000 children out of poverty.
• The government to introduce these Seasonal Grants as part of their wider investment into child poverty at the next Pre Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review. An additional £4bn (0.3% of GDP) is needed to ensure that the next milestone towards the child poverty target is met in 2010.
• All political parties to sign up to the target to eradicate child poverty by 2020 and to agree on a level of poverty below which no child should fall.

Whitbread continued: “The introduction of Seasonal Grants - small lump sums at the times of year when low income families are most likely to slip into debt, and poverty - could lift 440,000 children out of poverty, and would represent a lifeline to families struggling to support themselves this Christmas.”

Save the Children is calling for the public to support its campaign to end child poverty by signing up at www.savethechildren.org.uk/endchildpoverty  

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Organisation Contact Details:

Save the Children UK
1 St John's Lane
London EC1M 4AR
Tel: + 44 20 7012 6400
Email: supporter.care@savethechildren.org.uk
Website: www.savethechildren.org.uk

Last updated 20/11/2006 14:29:02

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