Bed Poverty in the UK: Barnardo’s Report Highlights Rising Levels of Destitution
Key Highlights :
The UK children's charity Barnardo's has released a report highlighting the increasing levels of destitution in the UK, with more than a million children either sleeping on the floor or sharing a bed with parents or siblings because their families cannot afford to replace broken frames and mouldy linen. The charity says that soaring food and gas bills are leaving low-income households unable to afford even a comfortable night's sleep, and that families are being forced to adopt desperate improvised sleeping arrangements.
The research found that an estimated 700,000 children were sharing beds, while 440,000 were sleeping on the floor, leaving them tired, anxious and struggling to concentrate at school. Parents and kids were often forced to share a bed, while other children would spend the night on mattresses or blankets on the floor, sometimes without sheets or duvets.
The report also found that replacing broken beds was seen as an unaffordable “luxury”, and that even washing bedding was hard due to high energy bills. Barnardo's estimates that more than 336,000 families could not afford to replace or repair beds in the last year, while more than 204,000 families said their children’s bed or bedding was mouldy or damp due to the cost of putting the heating on, and more than 187,000 said they couldn’t afford to wash or dry bedding.
The charity has highlighted how meagre social-security benefit levels and policies such as the two-child benefit limit are fuelling the hardship that creates bed poverty. It has called on the government to invest properly in England’s council-run crisis support schemes, which have been savaged by austerity cuts in recent years.
Barnardo's has provided beds for more than 400 families in the past 12 months, while hardship charity Buttle UK has given out £400,000 in bed grants last year, up 7% in the past 12 months.
The report has highlighted the desperate need for more support for those in poverty, and the impact that poverty is having on the lives of children and families across the UK. It is essential that the government takes action to address this issue and ensure that everyone has access to a comfortable night's sleep.
