One million children aged 10 and under are set to miss out on basics such as warm clothing and fresh food over the coming month and face a “Dickensian” Christmas, a charity has warned. Analysis by Action for Children of Department for Work and Pensions data for 2014/15 to 2016/17 on family income, including material deprivation, which measures access to basic items, found there are one million children under the age of 10 living in families with a household income below 70 per cent of the average income. The charity also found that there are 300,000 children aged 10 and younger who live in a household with severe low income and material deprivation. These households are defined as having both a low material deprivation score and a household income of less than half of the average income. In addition, the charity has carried out a survey of 2,000 adults who celebrate Christmas. The survey found that half of parents are cutting back on spending on presents, Christmas dinner and decorations during the festive period. A quarter (25 per cent) said they are getting into debt to pay for Christmas. Read more.
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