Monday, June 02, 2025
Government needs to act now on child poverty crisis
The paper says that as the cost of living continues to rise, a growing number of families are having to turn to baby banks, with new data showing that more than 3.5 million essential items were handed out in 2024, including nappies, clothes and cots – an increase of 143 per cent on the previous year:
Describing the rising need as “absolutely shocking”, actor and podcast host Giovanna Fletcher questioned how this is happening in the UK as she joined forces with MPs and children’s charities to urge the government to take action.
The new figures come after Labour delayed until autumn its flagship plan to cut child poverty, although it insists its strategy is “ambitious”. Meanwhile, ministers are debating whether or not to scrap the two-child benefit cap as the cost of living crisis continues to bite, and statutory maternity pay remains equivalent to less than half of the 2025 national living wage.
Single father Adam Coggins said the pressures of parenthood took a toll on his mental health and forced him to reach out to a baby bank for the first time, as he feared that without help he would be unable to feed his daughters, aged two and three.
The 34-year-old told The Independent: “I was so uncomfortable going there, because I’ve never had to ask for help before. I felt like a failure; that was hard. [But] without these people, we would be in trouble. They’ve saved a lot of people – [and] especially when you’ve got two young kids, you need that help. That could be the difference between getting a couple of meals for them. Getting two packs of nappies saves you money to get food for them.”
Mr Coggins and his daughters are among the 219,637 families supported by UK baby banks in 2024 alone – an increase of 35 per cent on the previous year, according to data from the Baby Bank Alliance (BBA), an organisation that supports the more than 400 baby banks nationwide. Stark government figures show that the number of children in poverty in Britain soared by 200,000, from 4.3 million to 4.5 million, between 2023 and 2024.
The BBA’s analysis of its latest annual survey of members found that baby banks are stretched to the limit. Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) reported receiving more requests for help than they could meet, with referrals rising by 30 per cent last year, while over two-thirds (69 per cent) said they have waiting lists for key items. This marks a crisis given that baby banks are a lifeline for families, providing essential items such as clothing, nappies, toys, prams and food, as well as a safe space. They are often run by volunteers, operating out of community halls, warehouses and even front rooms.
This situation is a direct result of Tory inaction and neglect but the fact that a Labour government has not taken immediate action to alleviate the problem by abolishing the two-child benefit cap and are still umming and arrhing over how to tackle child poverty is a disgrace. This cannot be allowed to continue, measures have to be put in place now to deal with child poverty.
