‘We are All in This Together’? The Hidden Costs of Poverty, Recession and Austerity Policies on Britain's Poorest Children

an article by Tess Ridge (University of Bath, Bath, UK) published in Children & Society Volume 27 Issue 5 (September 2013)

Abstract

In 2010, in the UK a new Coalition government inherited an ailing economy at a time of economic uncertainty and recession. Their response was to institute a fundamental revision and retrenchment of government spending accompanied by unprecedented cuts in welfare services and social security provision.

This article explores the nature and meaning of these changes from a child-centred perspective, to understand how and in what ways policy change and welfare retrenchment may uniquely impinge on low-income children's lives. It reveals that recent cuts and welfare changes have threatened to overlook their needs and exacerbate their deepest concerns.

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