Wales has the highest child poverty rate of all the UK nations
Date posted: 19/08/2014
Latest statistics published by the Department for Work and Pensions show that 200,000 children are living in poverty in Wales after housing costs are taken into account. This accounts for 31 per cent of children living in Wales in the 3 years to 2012-13, which is 2 percentage points lower than in the 3 years to 2011-12. This figure is the highest of the UK nations. It is also higher than all the English regions, other than London.
It is worth noting that the relative poverty rate is defined as having less than 60% of median household income, which in real terms has reduced in recent years. As median household income has fallen over this period, the level of income needed to be above the relative poverty threshold has fallen, meaning that levels of relative poverty did not increase during the economic downturn as you might expect.
It is evident that having a parent in work does not guarantee a route out of poverty for children in Wales. In line with the rest of the UK, one of the key features of recent years is the rise of in-work poverty.
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