Child costs hit £143,000 warns charity

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Communities and also in Finance

New research has revealed that the costs of bringing up children have risen sharply, and that it now costs £143,000 to bring a child up from birth to age 18.

The report by the Child Poverty Action Group shows that the basic cost of raising children has risen faster than inflation in recent years.

The research, which was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, found that childcare can add as much as £60,000 to the total cost of childhood. The main state support for childcare costs is through tax credits which were cut by 12.5% in April 2011.

It was also found that a full-time job on National Minimum Wage (NMW) is not enough to meet the minimum costs for children. For single parent families, NMW leaves them with 89% of the basic requirement, and for couples with families it is just 82% of the basic requirement (this is after benefits and tax credits have been included).

Child Benefit, says the report, meets only 20% of childhood costs on average for couples with families and just 18% for single parent families. Child Benefit has been frozen since 2010 and will have lost 10% of its value by 2014.

Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: “The research paints a stark picture of rising costs for bringing up children at a time when the Government is cutting its contribution to children’s costs and wages are stagnating.

“Every parent knows it’s getting harder to afford the things their children need, but it doesn’t feel like the Government is on their side right now. Ministers chose to make children and families the main target of their austerity agenda, cutting billions from child benefit, child tax credit, childcare credits and working tax credit. Even disabled children are having their disability additions slashed in half.

“It’s not just about support through benefits, there’s too many families stuck on low pay and low hours, and wages for the poorest have been falling behind for the last three decades. We need tough action from government to stop the rot and ensure that ‘a fair day’s pay for an honest day’s work’ is an option for everyone.

 “We’re moving backwards and parents know it with their family budgets are squeezed from every side. The research is a warning that we’ve reached a dangerous turning point. Experts like the IFS now warn we’re on the brink of a dramatic rise in child poverty, leaving the Prime Minister in desperate need of a change of strategy to keep his promise to ‘make British poverty history’.

“While Universal Credit will help some low-income families, it can’t do all the heavy lifting – decent jobs, decent children’s benefits and more affordable childcare are also needed if we are to turn back the rising tide of child poverty.”