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| UK has 2.3m children living in poverty, government says | UK has 2.3m children living in poverty, government says |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| There are 2.3 million children - almost one in six - living in relative poverty in the UK, government figures show. | There are 2.3 million children - almost one in six - living in relative poverty in the UK, government figures show. |
| The Department for Work and Pensions said the proportion of children living in poverty was unchanged in 2013-14 compared with the previous year. | The Department for Work and Pensions said the proportion of children living in poverty was unchanged in 2013-14 compared with the previous year. |
| A child is defined as being in poverty when living in a household with an income below 60% of the UK's average. | A child is defined as being in poverty when living in a household with an income below 60% of the UK's average. |
| Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said UK poverty levels were the "lowest since the mid-1980s". | |
| The DWP said the percentage of children in relative low income households remained at 17%. | |
| Mr Duncan Smith said government reforms of the welfare system were focussed on "making work pay" and getting people into employment. | |
| 'Deeply concerning' | |
| He told the Commons he remained "committed" to dealing with the "root causes" of poverty. | |
| But shadow chancellor Chris Leslie said the latest figures represented a "depressing slow-down in the progress we should be making as a country". | |
| Javed Khan, chief executive of children's charity Barnardo's, said every child living in poverty was a child that was being "let down". | |
| He said: "Government plans to cut struggling families' incomes further by changing tax credits is deeply concerning. | |
| "So that every child gets the chances in life every child deserves, this government must ensure that change to the benefits system makes work pay for those on low incomes, and doesn't force families further into poverty." | |
| The latest figures also showed that 9.6 million individuals were on relative low incomes in 2013-14. | |
| The average real terms household income - before housing costs - remained unchanged from 2012/13, at £453 a week. |