Families in poverty are having to sleep on the floor because they cannot afford beds, according to a children’s charity. The charity’s research also found that most of the families it surveyed struggled to find the money to heat and power their homes, and that the cost-of-living crisis had strained parents’ relationships with their children.
Buttle UK, which supports children and young people in crisis, surveyed 1,567 of the families it supports. The report said: “Parents and carers described high levels of sacrifice and self-denial to ensure that their children still ate. They themselves often went completely without, reporting the dire effects on their health and wellbeing.”
“The charity is calling on the government to lift the two-child benefit cap and significantly increase universal credit payments, as well as introduce a health strategy for young people in poverty and overhaul NHS children’s mental health services.”