UK child poverty survey exposes ’grinding reality’ of cold, damp homes | Society | theguardian.com
▻http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/oct/29/uk-child-poverty-cold-damp-homes-finances
More than half of all poor children in the UK are living in homes that are too cold, and around a quarter said their home suffered from damp or mould, a survey published by the Children’s Society indicates.
Of those children surveyed who said their family was “not well off at all”, 76% said they “often worried” about how much money the family had. More than 53% said their home was too cold last winter and 24% said it was “much colder” than they would have liked, while 26% said their home suffered from damp or mould.
There are over three million children living in poverty in the UK, a figure that is predicted to rise. Poverty remains stigmatising, according to the survey of 2,000 children aged between 10 and 17, published on Tuesday.
Of those who said that their family was not well off, 55% said they had felt embarrassed and 14% had experienced some form of bullying as a result.
Matthew Reed, the chief executive of the Children’s Society, said: “For millions of children up and down the country, poverty is a grinding reality – and it is getting worse. Many families are facing stark and unacceptable choices, like heat or eat. This is disgraceful in any country, especially in one of the world’s richest.”
#enfants #pauvreté #inégalités #RU