UK Wedding News
19/08/2013
The study, which was carried out by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University, found that it now costs a minimum of £148,000 to bring up a child to the age or 18 and meet their minimum needs. When broken down, this amounts to around £160 a week and averages for a child across all ages and includes childcare costs and housing.
It also revealed that in 2013, the minimum necessary cost for raising a child increased by 4%. This contrasts with safety net benefits for families and children which increased by 1%, the minimum wage rose by 1.8%, average earnings rose by 1.5%, and child benefit did not rise at all.
In addition, the value of both child benefit and child tax credit relative to the costs of raising a child has fallen in the last year.
At the same time, working families have had to deal with rapidly increasing childcare costs, which have increased at 5.9% in the last year.
Elsewhere, families working full-time on the national minimum wage now have only 83% (couples) and 87% (single parents) of the minimum income needed to support their children.
Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: "This research paints a stark picture of families being squeezed by rising prices and stagnant wages, yet receiving ever-diminishing support from the government over the course of the last year.
"Every parent knows it's getting harder to pay for the essentials their children need, and they don't feel like politicians see them as a priority. Child benefit and child tax credit have been cut at the very time families need them most. Families are getting worse off and parents know it.
"If every child in Britain can grow up healthy, well-educated and an active participant in their community, we all benefit from a more prosperous economy. This was well understood by the post-war generation who prioritised universal benefits for all children despite being much deeper in debt than we are today.
"As we move towards a 'living standards election', now would be a good time to renew our national commitment to all our children."
Katie Schmuecker, Policy and Research Manager at Joseph Rowntree Foundation, added: "This research looks at how much it costs parents to give their children a standard of living that the public think is the minimum acceptable. The task of making ends meet for families with children has always been hard, but is getting harder, and balancing family budgets has become a perilous and delicate act for hard-pressed parents.
"Flat lining wages, cuts to benefits and tax credits and the rising cost of essentials is creating a growing gap between income and needs.
"The next election is likely to be the first since the 1930s where living standards are lower than the last poll. All parties must go to the country with policies and a commitment to help the prospects of low-income families."
(JP/IT)
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Cost Of Raising A Child Increases By 4%
New research published by Child Poverty Action Group, and co-funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, has revealed parents are facing an ever-increasing struggle to provide a decent standard of living for their families in 2013.The study, which was carried out by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University, found that it now costs a minimum of £148,000 to bring up a child to the age or 18 and meet their minimum needs. When broken down, this amounts to around £160 a week and averages for a child across all ages and includes childcare costs and housing.
It also revealed that in 2013, the minimum necessary cost for raising a child increased by 4%. This contrasts with safety net benefits for families and children which increased by 1%, the minimum wage rose by 1.8%, average earnings rose by 1.5%, and child benefit did not rise at all.
In addition, the value of both child benefit and child tax credit relative to the costs of raising a child has fallen in the last year.
At the same time, working families have had to deal with rapidly increasing childcare costs, which have increased at 5.9% in the last year.
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Elsewhere, families working full-time on the national minimum wage now have only 83% (couples) and 87% (single parents) of the minimum income needed to support their children.
Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: "This research paints a stark picture of families being squeezed by rising prices and stagnant wages, yet receiving ever-diminishing support from the government over the course of the last year.
"Every parent knows it's getting harder to pay for the essentials their children need, and they don't feel like politicians see them as a priority. Child benefit and child tax credit have been cut at the very time families need them most. Families are getting worse off and parents know it.
"If every child in Britain can grow up healthy, well-educated and an active participant in their community, we all benefit from a more prosperous economy. This was well understood by the post-war generation who prioritised universal benefits for all children despite being much deeper in debt than we are today.
"As we move towards a 'living standards election', now would be a good time to renew our national commitment to all our children."
Katie Schmuecker, Policy and Research Manager at Joseph Rowntree Foundation, added: "This research looks at how much it costs parents to give their children a standard of living that the public think is the minimum acceptable. The task of making ends meet for families with children has always been hard, but is getting harder, and balancing family budgets has become a perilous and delicate act for hard-pressed parents.
"Flat lining wages, cuts to benefits and tax credits and the rising cost of essentials is creating a growing gap between income and needs.
"The next election is likely to be the first since the 1930s where living standards are lower than the last poll. All parties must go to the country with policies and a commitment to help the prospects of low-income families."
(JP/IT)
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