By IRNA,
London : British charity Save the Children has expressed fears that number of children living without the basics in the UK will rise as result of government policy
Figures compiled by the charity show that 1.6 million youngsters in Britain already live in severe poverty, which is defined by the government as household with half the average income.
‘No child should be born without a chance. It is a national scandal that 1.6 million children are growing up in severe poverty,’ said Sally Copley, Save the Children’s head of UK policy.
‘Children up and down the country are going to sleep at night in homes with no heating, without eating a proper meal and without proper school uniforms to put on in the morning,’ Copley warned.
The charity called on the government to draw up an emergency plan to tackle extreme levels of poverty with new research showing that more than one in four children live in penury in some major UK cities.
With unemployment rising and a radical shake up of the welfare system seeing £18bn wiped from benefits through government cuts, it expressed fears that the number of children living without the basics will rise unless action is taken.