Two-fifths of children in key worker households are living below the breadline

Around 1 million children with key worker parents are living below the breadline, new research by the TUC has found.

In some parts of the UK, more than two-fifths of children in key worker households are living below the breadline with one in five (19%) key worker households having children living in poverty.

The research, which uses the government definition for key workers, shows that the number of kids growing up in poverty in key worker households has increased by 65,000 over the past two years to nearly 1 million (989,000) in 2022.

It forecasts that in 2023 that number will rise again to 1.1 million unless ministers take further action to support families.

The analysis – undertaken for the TUC by Landman Economics – highlights how in some regions of the UK more than two-fifths of children in key worker households are now living in poverty.

Key worker families in the North East (41%) have the highest rate of child poverty followed by the North West (29%) and London (29%) and the East of England (24%).

Scotland (8.3%) and Wales (8.9%) have the lowest rates.

The TUC warned child poverty rates among key worker households are likely to get worse. Ministers have announced another of year of real-terms pay cuts for key workers in the public sector.

The union body says this will have a devastating impact on frontline workers after a brutal decade of pay freezes and cuts:

• Hospital porters’ real pay will be down by £200 this year
• Maternity care assistants’ real pay will be down by £600 this year
• Nurses’ real pay will be down by £1,100 this year
• Paramedics’ real pay will be down by over £1,500 this year

Ministers are calling for wages to be held down for some key workers in the private sector too.

The TUC says the additional support announced by the Treasury this year to help families with energy bills will be offset by cuts to real-terms pay and other rising living costs.

The TUC says government calls for widespread pay suppression will reduce household spending and demand as the UK teeters on the brink of recession.

The union body highlighted how at the same time key workers are being told to tighten their belts, city bonuses are rocketing.

TUC analysis published in June month revealed that bonuses in the financial and insurance sector grew by 27.9% over the last year, six times faster than average wages in the same period, which grew by 4.2%.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said “Our amazing key workers got us through the pandemic. The very least they deserve is to be able to provide for their families. But the government is locking too many key worker households into poverty.”

“Ministers’ heartless decision to hold down pay will cause widespread hardship and put the UK at greater risk of recession. After the longest wage squeeze in 200 years we urgently need to get more money in the pockets of working families. This will help people get through this cost of living crisis and inject much-needed demand into our economy.

“It is particularly galling that as key workers are being told to tighten their belts, city executives are enjoying bumper bonuses. Once again ordinary working people are being forced to carry the can for a crisis made in Downing Street.”