In January the looming hike in energy costs, exacerbated by rising inflation and other cost of living increases, occupied
everyone’s minds. Unsurprisingly the poorest households will be hardest hit by these increases. Read more.

This comes at a time when the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reported that the number of UK children growing up in “very deep poverty” has risen to 1.8 million.

Labour party research also reported in January that black children are at least twice as likely as white ones to grow up poor,
with the proportion having risen from 42% in 2010-11 to 53% in 2019-2020.

The Northern Health Science Alliance published a report showing the extent of inequality between north and south. Their Children of the North report found that poverty is the lead driver of inequalities which lead to worse physical and mental health outcomes, educational attainment, and lower lifelong economic productivity: read the report.

Moving further north, Scotland’s Poverty and Inequality Commission warned that, unless significant work is undertaken, targets
to reduce child poverty levels by 2023-24 will be missed. 25% of Scottish children were locked into poverty and over half were
in poverty at least once over a 12 year period.

Safeguarding

January began with a plea from Sir Peter Wanless, Chair of the NSPCC, to make the protection of children a priority in 2022 – read more.
A report from the Commission on Young Lives looked at how children’s safeguarding (in particular the social care system) needs to change to protect vulnerable teenagers. Read the report here.