Record number of children in Milton Keynes living in poverty

The figures revealed that 11,782 children under 16 in Milton Keynes were living in relative poverty in the year to March.

This is up from 11,083 the previous year and the highest since comparable records began in 2013-2014.

The data also showed that 18 per cent of children in the area were in households where income was below 60 per cent of the average, and claimed child benefit alongside one other household benefit.

Nationally, 2.7 million children were living in relative poverty, including 256,051 in the south east.

The national total increases to 4.4 million when factoring in income after housing costs and including children aged 16 to 19 in full-time education.

The Government’s own impact assessment, published last week, estimated welfare reforms planned by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves could see another 250,000 people, including a further 50,000 children, fall into poverty by 2029-2030.

However Reeves told Sky News she was "absolutely certain" her reforms would not push people into poverty.

Charities warned that Reeves’ cuts to disability and incapacity benefits would "push more disabled people into poverty and worsen people’s health" and urged the Government to make a U-turn on their plans.

Oxfam's domestic poverty lead, Dr Silvia Galandini, said: "These latest poverty figures are as damning as they are heartbreaking.

"It is unconscionable that the Government is cutting social security while willfully ignoring the huge potential revenue of a tiny tax on the super-rich, one that is overwhelmingly backed by the British public."

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