Britain's child poverty 'social apartheid': Problems faced by the young are worse than 1960s claim researchers

• The report was carried out by leading charity National Children's Bureau
• Warns that Britain is at risk of becoming a place where rich and poor children live in separate, parallel worlds
• The report compares data collected from a study called Born To Fail published in 1969 

A report has found that child poverty is now a bigger problem than during the 1960s

Child poverty is now a bigger problem than during the 1960s, a damning report to be published this week has found. 
The report was carried out by the National Children's Bureau and warns that Britain is at risk of becoming a place where 'children's lives are so polarised that rich and poor live in separate, parallel worlds.'
It blames a 'failure of political will' has resulted in poorer children having fewer chances in life today.
The report compares children's lives with data collected from a study called Born To Fail published in 1969. 
It found that around 3.6million children are now living in relative poverty today compared with 2million in the late 1960s.
According to the report, a child from a disadvantage background is less likely to develop as quickly by the age of four than a child from a more affluent family. 
Children living in deprived areas are also more likely to be the victim of an unintentional injury or accident at home and are nine times less likely to have green spaces to play.
While boys living in deprived areas are three times more likely to be obese than boys growing up in affluent areas compared with girls who are twice as likely to be obese.

 

It also notes that 63 per cent of children living in poverty have at least one parent or carer who is working.  
The report reads: 'Today, although there have been some improvements, overall the situation appears to be no better, and in some respects has got worse.' 
The charity says that if Britain tried to be more like other European countries, there would be less children dying from unintentional injuries, 320,000 more teenagers would be in education or training and nearly 45,000 11-year-olds would not be obese.

The report compares children's lives with data collected from a study called Born To Fail published in 1969

The charity is calling on the government to do more to stop the widening gap between children living in poverty and children from more affluent families.
The report says: 'The government made a commitment to protect pensioner benefits but there has been no equivalent commitment to protect children living in the poorest families or to tackle child poverty.' 
Dr Hilary Emery, chief executive of the National Children’s Bureau, said: 'Our analysis shows that despite some improvements, the inequality and disadvantage suffered by poorer children 50 years ago still persists today.
'There is a real risk that as a nation we are sleep walking into a world where children grow up in a state of social apartheid, with poor children destined to experience hardship and disadvantage just by accident of birth, and their more affluent peers unaware of their existence.
'All our children should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential regardless of their circumstances. We cannot afford to let them grow up in such an unequal ‘them and us’ society in which the talents of the next generation are wasted, leaving them cut adrift to become a costly burden to the economy rather than a productive asset.
'This is a critical moment of opportunity to tackle the child poverty and inequality that has been a permanent feature in our country for five decades.
'Government has a major role to play in leading the way to address this but there must also be a wider mobilisation of efforts and resources led by politicians from every party and involving charities, businesses and communities all playing a part in having greater expectations for every child.'