According to the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), single parents on the National Living Wage cannot afford a ‘basic, no-frills lifestyle’.
Minimum income earners are on average £70 short per week on their spending for basic needs for their children.
Research by CPAG suggests that while this is an improvement from last year’s average where couples were £59 short per week, couples with two children, are still short by £49 a week of the necessary income to provide for their children.
The National Living Wage amounts to £7.83 per hour for people aged 25 and above. It has been speculated that this amount should increase to £9 per hour by the year 2020.
The overall cost of a child is £150,753 for a couple and £183,335 for a single parent. These figures also include rent and childcare.
A spokesperson from the Government has stated that there are less families living in “absolute poverty” compared to previous years.
“The employment rate is at a near-record high and the National Living Wage has delivered the highest pay increase for the lowest paid in 20 years, worth £2,000 extra per year for a full time worker…. A combination of rising prices, benefits and tax credit freezes, the introduction of the benefit cap and two-child limit, the bedroom tax, cuts to house benefits and the rolling out of universal credit have hit family budgets hard.”
“Life has been getting progressively tougher for families on low or modest incomes over the past 10 years, with families on in-work and out-of-work benefits hardest hit.”
Our #CostofaChild report has some stark statistics on lone parents. On an average (median) wage, working full time, they’re still far short of earning enough for a minimum standard of living for their two kids https://t.co/okMl3T1d56 pic.twitter.com/XkIJzcFZLH
— Child Poverty Action (@CPAGUK) 20 August 2018
