Understanding each measure of Child Poverty
In 2016, the Welfare Reform and Work Act abolished the Child Poverty Act, including the targets to reduce poverty and the measure of poverty based on family income. The government is now required only to report to parliament on the number of children living in workless households, and educational outcomes at GCSE level. However, after a campaign by the Child Poverty Action Group, the government agreed to commit to regularly publishing data on the number of children in poverty. The Poverty Fact Book includes 5 measures for Child Poverty:
- Relative Child Poverty UK DWP official measure for the UK, before and after housing costs
- Absolute Child Poverty UK DWP official measure for the UK, before and after housing costs
- Leeds Child Poverty HMRC & DWP official Local Measure, before housing costs only
- Leeds Child Poverty End Child Poverty Coalition’s Localised Estimate, before and after housing costs
The headline figure for Child Poverty is the DWP’s Relative Child Poverty, after housing costs are deducted from income. The DWP and HMRC have now combined their figures to produce one official local estimate for child poverty. The End Child Poverty Coalition estimate is included because it is useful local estimate that can provide figures before and after housing costs have been deducted.
Child Poverty in the UK – Relative Child Poverty
The proportion of children living in households where income is less than 60% of median household income
Table 2.1
| All dependent children under the age of 20 | 2018/19 | 2017/18 | 2008/09 | 2010/11 | 1 year change | 10 year change |
| No of UK Children in Relative Poverty in BHC(m) | 2.8m | 3m | 2.9m | 2.3m | -0.2m | +0.1m |
| UK Children in Relative Poverty in the UK BHC % | 20.0% | 22.0% | 22.0% | 18.0% | ||
| No of UK Children in Relative Poverty AHC(m) | 4.2m | 4.1m | 3.9m | 3.6m | +0.1m | +0.3m |
| UK Children in Relative Poverty in the UK AHC % | 30.0% | 30.0% | 30.0% | 27.0% | ||
| Source: DWP, Households below average income (HBAI), March 2020 | ||||||
Latest figures show 2.8 million children experienced relative poverty before housing costs were deducted (BHC) during 2018/19 (20% of children in the UK), down by 200,000 children on the previous year, and 100,000 more children in poverty compared to 10 years ago.
Looking at relative poverty figures after housing costs (AHC) are deducted from income, there were 4.2 million children in relative poverty 2018/19 (30% of children in the UK). This is has increased by 100,000 more children in 2017/18 and 300,000 more children in poverty compared to 10 years ago.
Child Poverty in the UK – Absolute Child Poverty
The proportion of children living in households where income is less than 60 per cent of median household income in 2010/11 uprated by CPI inflation.
Table 2.2
| All dependent children under the age of 20 | 2018/19 | 2017/18 | 2008/09 | 2010/11 | 1 year change | 10 year change |
| No of UK Children in Absolute Poverty in BHC(m) | 2.4m | 2.5m | 2.8m | 2.3m | -0.1m | -0.4m |
| UK Children in Absolute Poverty in the UK BHC % | 17.0% | 18.0% | 21.0% | 18.0% | ||
| No of UK Children in Absolute Poverty AHC(m) | 3.7m | 3.7m | 3.9m | 3.6m | 0.0m | -0.2m |
| UK Children in Absolute Poverty in the UK AHC % | 26.0% | 26.0% | 30.0% | 27.0% | ||
| Source: DWP, Households below average income (HBAI), March 2020 | ||||||
Latest figures show 2.4 million children experienced absolute poverty during 2018/19 before housing costs (BHC) were deducted from income (17% of children in the UK). This figure has reduced by 100,000 children in the last year, and 400,000 children compared to 10 years ago. Looking at absolute poverty figures after housing costs (AHC) are deducted from income, there were 3.7 million children in absolute poverty AHC during 2018/19 (26% of children in the UK), which has remained static for the last two years, since 2016/17. In the last 10 years, the figure has fallen by 200,000 children.
Children in working and workless households in relative poverty (UK estimates)
Table 2.3:
| Economic status of household | UK Total number of children | Children in poverty BHC | Children in poverty AHC | ||
| No | % | No | % | ||
| At least one adult in work | 12.2m | 2.0m | 16% | 3.5m | 25% |
| Workless households | 1.8m | 828,000 | 46% | 1.2m | 65% |
| Total number of children | 14.0m | 3.0m | n/a | 4.2m | n/a |
| Source: DWP, Households below average income (HBAI), March 2020 | |||||
A higher percentage of children in workless families are in poverty, compared to children in families where at least one adult is in work. In 2018/19, 65% of all children in workless families were in relative poverty AHC (affecting an estimated 1.17m children). In contrast, 25% of all children with at least one adult in work were in relative poverty (affecting an estimated 3.05m children).
When looking solely at the proportion of children in poverty, it can be seen that 2m out of 2.8m children in poverty are from a working family, this equates to 71% of children in poverty being from a working family before housing costs are deducted). After housing costs are deducted, 73% (m 3.05 out of 4.2m) of children in poverty are from working families.
Child Poverty in Leeds : HMRC and DWP combined Local Measure for Children in Low-Income Families
2020 is the first release of these statistics which have replaced DWP’s Children in out-of-work benefit households and HMRC’s Personal Tax Credits: Children in low income families. This local measure provides a picture of children in low income families for both Relative and Absolute measures, but only Before Housing Costs (BHC).
A family must have claimed one or more of Universal Credit, Tax Credits or Housing Benefit at any point in the year to be classed as low income in these statistics.
The count of children refers to the age of the child at 31 March of each year.
Table 2.4
| Number and Percentage of Children (Aged Under 16) living in Relative low income families | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 |
| No of children in Low income families Leeds | 30,094 | 32,394 | 34,862 |
| Leeds Rate | 17.0% | 18% | 23% |
| No of children in Low income families England | 2,054,622 | 2,202,650 | 2,251,798 |
| England Rate | 20.0% | 22% | 18% |
| DWP & HMRC: Children in Low Income Households Local Area Statistics |
In 2018/19, there were 2.25 million children aged 0-16 in families in Relative low income and 1.8million children aged 0-16 in absolute low income families across Great Britain.
In 2018/19, there were 34,862 children under 16, in families in relative poverty, before housing costs in Leeds. This was 23% of all children in Leeds, compared to 18% of children in Great Britain. There were 30,215 children, or 20% of children living in households in absolute poverty, before housing costs in Leeds.
Child Poverty in Leeds – End Child Poverty Coalition Estimates
Table 2.5
| Children in poverty BHC | Children in poverty AHC | |||
| 2017/18 | Number of children 0-19 | Proportion | Number of children 0-19 | Proportion |
| UK | 3m | 22% | 4.1m | 30% |
| Leeds | 47,306 | 24.8% | 56,104 | 29% |
| Source: Centre for Research in Social Policy, End Child Poverty Local estimates, May 2019 | ||||
This data is published by the End Child Poverty coalition, and highlights how levels of child poverty vary across Britain. Researchers from Loughborough University estimated the numbers of children locked in poverty in each constituency, ward and local authority area across Britain, showing that child poverty is rising particularly rapidly in parts of major cities. In Leeds the rate of child poverty for 2017/18 is estimated at 29% after housig costs are deducted, affecting 56,104 children under 20.
This estimate is available before and after housing costs are deducted and is designed to offer timely and localised estimates on Child Poverty and comparable to the national HBAI measure above. The official Child Poverty rate for local areas is published by HMRC is only available before housing costs are deducted (See Table 2.4 above).
Free School Meals
The data in this table is a total of all school types – i.e. for state funded primary, secondary, special schools, Pupil Referral Units and Alternative Provision Academies and Free Schools. The data excludes all infant children who receive universal free school meals regardless of income.
Table 2.6
| England | Leeds | England Change | Leeds Change | |||
| 2019 | 2018 | 2019 | 2018 | 2018-19 | 2018-19 | |
| Total Number of pupils | 8,264,937 | 8,152,323 | 125,183 | 122,742 | +112,614 | +2,441 |
| Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals | 1,275,473 | 1,106,495 | 22,755 | 15,395 | +168,978 | +7,360 |
| Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals | 15.4% | 13.6% | 18.2% | 12.5% | +1.8% | +5.6% |
| Source: DfE Schools, pupils and their characteristics, Jun 2019 | ||||||
In January 2019, 22,755 (18.2%) of pupils in Leeds were eligible and claiming a free school meal. Nationally 15.4% were eligible and claiming.
According to Leeds City Council’s local data the uptake of free school meals in January 2019 was 79.4%. Please note that this figure represents all of Leeds’ local authority maintained schools but not all Acadameies in Leeds.
Entitlement to free school meals is determined by the receipt of income-related benefits. Since 1 April 2018, transistional protections have been in place which will continue to be in place during the roll out of Universal Credit. This has meant that pupils eligible for free school meals on or after 1 April 2018 retain their free school meals eligibility even if their circumstances change. The DfE state that this has been the main driver in the increase in the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals as pupils continue to become eligible but fewer pupils stop being eligible.
Further information
Child Poverty
Relative and Absolute Child Poverty UK DWP official measure for the UK
The DWP’s Household Below Average Income (HBAI) report contains the official headline measure for all poverty figures for the UK, in particular the number of children in low-income families at a national level.
The HBAI is based on data from the Family Resources Survey in which the sample sizes are insufficient for useful analysis at the local level. In HBAI, median household income is calculated using the entire income distribution. The HBAI low-income threshold is then calculated by taking 60 per cent of this median.
The measure represents dependent children under the age of 20. A dependent child is defined as an individual aged under 16 or an individual aged 16 to 19 years who is:
- not married nor in a Civil Partnership nor living with a partner; and
- living with parents; and
- in full-time non-advanced education or in unwaged government training
HMRC and DWP Local Estimates
In order to produce a comparable figure for smaller geographies:
- HMRC produce the Children in low income families measure and
- DWP produce the Children in out-of-work benefit households data.
Both local indicators represent relative child poverty, before housing costs are deducted from income. There is no official local measure for child poverty after housing costs are deducted from income.
DWP and HMRC intend to combine their local releases – HMRC’s Children in low income families and DWP’s Children in out-of-work benefit households for joint release in 2019. The combined set of statistics will provide a more coherent picture of living standards for children by local area and reduce volatility in the measure of children in low-income families.
End Child Poverty Coalition Local Estimates
The Centre for Research in Social Policy produces annual estimates for the End Child Poverty Coalition of the number of children in poverty in each ward, local authority and parliamentary constituency in the UK. These estimates are not accurate counts of how many children are in poverty in each area. Rather, they use the latest local data available to give an indication of where child poverty is particularly high, and therefore where there need to be the strongest efforts to tackle it.
The local estimates use the local HMRC child poverty figures, and adjusts them to include in-work poverty for each local area, using assumptions from the HBAI poverty data. The End Child Poverty Coalition state that these figures should always be presented as estimates. The procedures used to create these estimates are described as ‘far from perfect’. However, the figures are stated to be closer to the true level of child poverty (defined as below 60% of median income) than the HMRC data unadjusted, and are the best estimates available.
Free School Meals
Free School Meals – in England in January 2019, children in state-funded schools were entitled to receive free school meals if a parent or carer were in receipt of any of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided they were not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and had an annual gross income of no more than £16,190, as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs)
- Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit – if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get).