Kirsten accuses Tory ministers of lack of concern over growing poverty

Fuel poverty is currently considered to be if 10 per cent or more of household income is needed to heat a home.

In response to a parliamentary question from Ms Oswald, the Department for Work and Pensions confirmed that it has made no recent assessment of the impact of their policies on the level of child poverty.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation identify a range of UK Government policies that increase poverty, including the two-child limit in income-related benefits, the five-week wait for the first Universal Credit payment and the freezing of Local Housing Allowance rates since April 2020.

Research by price comparison website comparethemarket.com found that, across the UK, more than two-fifths (42%) of families with children living at home expect to take on extra debt to deal with rocketing energy bills, and around a third (33%) of families with children struggled to pay household bills over the previous week.

Analysis by Energy Action Scotland shows that one in five households (19%) in East Renfrewshire will be living in fuel poverty because of the increase in energy costs.

A recent report by the Child Poverty Action Group Scotland estimated that Scottish Government policies aimed at tackling child poverty will reduce the cost of bringing up a child by nearly £24,000 compared to the rest of the UK.

Ms Oswald said: “Charities, campaigners and analysts are all highlighting the growing levels of poverty including increasing child poverty, but the UK Government is ploughing on with damaging policies with no apparent concern for the consequences.

“Growing up in poverty is a major factor in limiting a young person’s life chances and in damaging communities, but the UK Government isn’t even assessing the impact of its policies on the level of child poverty.

“East Renfrewshire is one of the least deprived areas of Scotland, but, even here, one in five households are facing fuel poverty and that is before the expected impact of the war in Ukraine on fuel prices.

“It is time UK Government ministers took seriously the effect of their policies in creating poverty and learned from the work the Scottish Government is doing to create a fairer and more sustainable Scotland.”