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| One in six children live in poverty, UK statistics show. | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| At least one out of every six children in the UK lives in relative poverty, according to data released by the Department for Work and Pensions. | At least one out of every six children in the UK lives in relative poverty, according to data released by the Department for Work and Pensions. |
| In 2011-12, 2.3 million UK children (17%) lived in homes with substantially lower than average income. | In 2011-12, 2.3 million UK children (17%) lived in homes with substantially lower than average income. |
| This rises to 27% (3.5 million) if measured after housing costs are paid. | |
| There was no change on the previous year, and the number and proportion of working-age adults in relative poverty also remained at about the same level. | There was no change on the previous year, and the number and proportion of working-age adults in relative poverty also remained at about the same level. |
| But compared with 1998-99, about one million fewer children are living in poverty in the UK, on both measures. | But compared with 1998-99, about one million fewer children are living in poverty in the UK, on both measures. |
| Relative poverty is defined as when families have an income that is below 60% of "median net disposable income". | Relative poverty is defined as when families have an income that is below 60% of "median net disposable income". |
| The government says the statistics also show that compared with last year, 100,000 fewer children are living in "workless poor families". | The government says the statistics also show that compared with last year, 100,000 fewer children are living in "workless poor families". |
| The proportion of working-age adults living in relative poverty is also about one in six (5.6 million) if income is calculated before housing costs are paid - the government's preferred way of measuring relative poverty. | |
| This rises to one in five (7.9 million) if the other measure is used. | |
| A similar proportion on pensioners were living in relative poverty in 2011-12 - 1.9 million. | |
| Working target | |
| The coalition government has made a pledge to end child poverty by 2020. Labour set a target to halve it by 2010. | |
| Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said the government's aim was to get children out of poverty by getting more people in to work. | |
| "While this government is committed to eradicating child poverty, we want to take a new approach by finding the source of the problem and tackling that. We have successfully protected the poorest from falling behind and seen a reduction of 100,000 children in workless poor families," he said. | |
| "Today's figures underline the need for better measures of child poverty that are not so heavily dependent on where we draw the poverty line." |