Below-inflation rises to child benefit and tax credits have led parents to cut spending on food, clothes or heat, says End Child Poverty group

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

More than 2 million children live in families that are cutting back their spending on food, clothing or heating as a result of government decisions to impose cuts in real terms on child-related benefits, new research finds.

Rates of both child benefit and child tax credits have been pegged at less than the cost of living for the past three years, causing one in five families to struggle to provide living essentials, according to the End Child Poverty coalition.

It has called on the government to introduce a “triple-lock” guarantee similar to that applied to the state pension to ensure children’s benefits rise in line with prices, earnings or by 2.5%, whichever is the higher.

This would lift an estimated 280,000 children out of relative income poverty by 2020, End Child Poverty estimates.

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The government has indicated it will seek to freeze the value of working age benefits for two years from April 2016 as part of plans to reduce social security spending by £12bn a year by 2017-18. The freeze hopes to save £1bn.

More than 4m households have been affected by below-inflation rises to child benefit and child tax credit, said End Child Poverty. Nearly two-thirds of those hit are working families on low incomes. A typical low-paid working family with two children will lose £513 in 2015.

A separate survey of 1,000 families found over a third reported that they had cut back on family outings and trips, 26% spent less on clothes, a fifth cut down on food and a fifth on heating.

Those on lower incomes were hardest hit. About 40% of families earning below £15,000 a year said they had cut back on food, and 45% on heating.

David Holmes, the chair of End Child Poverty said: “It is deeply worrying that parents are having to cut back on food, heating and other essentials that their children need in order to develop and thrive.

“The new government needs to seize the opportunity in the Queen’s speech to stop the rise in child poverty. During the election campaign David Cameron promised not to cut child benefit, now is the time for him to keep that pledge.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “The percentage of people in the UK in relative poverty is at its lowest since the mid-80s and the government has taken action to support low and middle income families with the costs of raising children.

“The only sustainable way to raise living standards is to keep working through the government’s long-term plan that is building a resilient economy with more people in work than ever before and has enabled us to announce the first real-terms increase in the minimum wage since the great recession.”

The End Child Poverty coalition comprises more than 150 charities, faith groups, trade unions and civil society organisations.

