Steep rise in adult and child poverty predicted

A steep rise in poverty rates will see an extra 600,000 children pushed into absolute poverty in the next two years according to a new report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

The report predicts that 3.1 million children, 2.5m working-age parents and four million working-age adults without children will be living in absolute poverty in 2013. Median incomes will fall by around 7% in real terms, the largest three-year fall for 35 years.

The report also forecasts absolute and relative child poverty to be 23% and 24% in 2020-21 respectively. This compares to the targets of 5% and 10%, set out in the Child Poverty Act (2010) and passed with cross-party support.

This would be the highest rate of absolute child poverty since 2001-02 and the highest rate of relative child poverty since 1999-2000.

The report's findings have been described as "devastating" by campaigners from the Child Poverty Action Group.

Read the Institute of Fiscal Studies press release here

Read a BBC News report on the findings here

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