Two thirds of London children in poverty won’t eat this summer unless charities provide their food (Picture: The Childhood Trust)

Over two thirds of children in poverty in the capital will go hungry during the school summer holidays unless charities provide free food and activities, new research has found.

The same number say they are afraid of being targeted by gangs and over half report a high risk of being sexually exploited because their parents have no choice but to leave them at home alone.

Child poverty campaigners said the research showed how school summer holidays offer a ‘bleak outlook’ for growing numbers of children in London.

The Childhood Trust warned that cuts to youth services and charity grants – which disproportionately affect low income families – mean more than half a million children in the city will go hungry this summer.




Child activists from one of the capital’s poorest boroughs have today launched a manifesto calling on the government to end summer holiday hunger and provide free activities to make sure vulnerable children are safe when they’re not at school.

Many children whose parents are unable to afford the high cost of holiday clubs will spend the summer holidays without adult supervision (Picture: The Childhood Trust)

Pupils from Peckham, who earlier this year made a film to show what it is really like to use a food bank, have been sharing their harrowing experiences of being beaten up, bullied and too scared to go outside during the summer holidays.

Aged just 9, one of the children involved revealed how she had been targeted and assaulted by gang members.

She said: ‘Every time I’d come outside they’d punch me and hurt me and tease me.

‘I still have the scars on my knees from where they hurt me.’

The Trust, which today launches its Summer Give campaign, said half of children in poverty under the age of 11 will be left without adult supervision because of the price of holiday clubs.

The Summer Holiday Manifesto Children should never go hungry during the holidays (or at any other time)

Children should never be left on their own all day if their parent(s) have to work

All children should have a holiday club to go to where there are free, fun activities and hot meals

All children should feel that they can play outside without threat or intimidation from gangs or other children

The police should be able to keep children safe during the holidays

Local MPs should volunteer at their local holiday club so children know who their MP is and can tell them what needs to change

The Government should fund Local Authorities to universally provide these things for all children

On average it costs £121 a week to send a child to a holiday club – more than £700 for the duration of the summer holidays.

‘Local councils have cut youth services by 44 per cent on average since 2011 and there are not enough places for children to attend,’ the Childhood Trust said.

‘Whilst the government recognises the impact of poverty on children during the summer holidays it has failed to address this with just £9.1million of funding allocated to support 50,000 children in 11 areas of England.

‘Councils in London have suffered the largest cuts to annual youth services budgets with Westminster’s funding per child slashed by more than half, from £1,591 to £761.62.’

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

The Trust’s chief executive Laurence Guinness said: ‘It’s heart breaking to see seven, eight and nine year olds appealing to the government to provide proper funding for children who are going hungry and are terrified during the holidays.

‘Cutting youth services is a false economy and is contributing to increased crime, youth violence and child exploitation.’

Since 2013, the Trust has raised £11.3 million in match funding campaigns for over 150 projects ‘to provide a lifeline for London’s poorest kids’, Laurence said.



Visit theBigGive.org.uk/summergive to donate and find out more.

Got a story for Metro.co.uk? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page.