Third of West Midlands children worry about money amidst cost of living crisis
New research has shown that a third of children in the West Midlands worry about their family having enough money to live comfortably, as experts warn the UK could be facing the biggest income squeeze in nearly 50 years.
A new report by children's charity Action for Children has revealed that nearly half of children (47 per cent) surveyed from low-income backgrounds said they worry about their family's finances, compared with only 14 per cent of children from high income families.
Now, the charity is urging the Government to produce a plan to reduce child poverty and take immediate action to support those on the lowest incomes by making sure benefits keep pace with the rising cost of living.
Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, believes the crisis in Ukraine will only exacerbate children's financial worries.
The director said: "It is the fundamental responsibility of any government to make sure every generation of children has a better childhood and a brighter future than the last.
"Day in, day out, our frontline staff support children in the West Midlands grappling to see how they fit into our complex world –navigating big issues including financial worries, climate change and the pandemic.
"Sadly, since we conducted our research, intensifying money worries and the war in Ukraine will leave children feeling the world is a gloomier place.
"The likely fall-out of the Ukraine conflict with even higher energy bills and inflation rates not seen for a generation, is a double blow for low-income families, already locked in a crippling cost of living crisis.
"The pandemic also continues to hang heavy, and its impact will be felt long into children’s futures.
"The government needs a clear plan to reduce child poverty and it can take immediate action to support those on the lowest incomes by making sure benefits keep pace with the soaring cost of living in the tough months ahead."
Action for Children polled three UK generations with YouGov, surveying over 5,000 children and adults to explore the biggest issues affecting childhood post-pandemic.
The survey revealed that more than half of parents and grandparents fear childhood is getting worse, with over a third of children agreeing.
Children said their biggest issues preventing them from fulfilling their potential were the impact of the pandemic (49 per cent), too much pressure from school (43 per cent), and poor mental health (38 per cent).
And two years on from the first national lockdown, mental health is now a much bigger worry for the region’s children with less than a quarter (22 per cent) of children seeing their own mental health as an issue in the charity's 2019 poll, compared to 42 per cent in 2022.
Encouragingly though, children in the West Midlands do feel more optimistic about their own prospects, with over four in ten (43 per cent) believing they will have a brighter future than their parents.
Pessimism grows through the generations however, with parents (40 per cent) and grandparents (39 per cent) more than twice as likely than children (17 per cent) to say their child or grandchild won’t have a brighter future.
