The majority of British children will soon be growing up in families which are struggling "below the breadline" because of welfare cuts, tax rises and wage freezes, the Government is warned today.
Within two years, almost 7.1 million of the nation's 13 million youngsters will be in homes with incomes judged to be less than the minimum necessary for a decent standard of living, according to a report.
The figures, which emerged a week ahead of George Osborne's Budget, suggest that an unwanted legacy of the Coalition's squeeze on spending will be to leave more children living close to poverty.
They coincide with a new survey for the Resolution Foundation think-tank, which found that almost seven in 10 of people believe the Government does not understand the financial strains they face.
The impact on children of the economic downturn and austerity cuts was underlined by an analysis that concluded that the number of under-18s living in households below minimum income standards would rise by 690,000 between 2010-2015.
