Cost of raising child in UK increases 4% to nearly £150,000

The minimum cost of raising a child to 18 rose by 4% over the past year to almost £150,000 – well above rises in earnings and safety net benefits, research shows.

It now costs a total of £148,105 – about £160 a week – for two parents and £161,260 for a lone parent to cover food, clothing, heating and other expenses, a Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) report found.

But benefits for families and children only rose by 1%, the minimum wage by 1.8%, average earnings by 1.5%, and child benefit did not rise at all, said CPAG, whose research was co-funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).

The sums are based on JRF's minimum income standards project and presented "a stark picture of families being squeezed by rising prices and stagnant wages, yet receiving ever-diminishing support from the government" said CPAG's chief executive Alison Garnham.

"Every parent knows it's getting harder to pay for the essentials their children need, and they don't feel like politicians see them as a priority. Child benefit and child tax credit have been cut at the very time families need them most."

Katie Schmuecker, policy and research manager at JRF said: "The next election is likely to be the first since the 1930s where living standards are lower than the last poll. All parties must go to the country with policies and a commitment to help the prospects of low-income families. The risk and costs otherwise are enormous."

CPAG said many low-income families had seen cuts in housing support with the introduction of changes such as the 'bedroom tax', while childcare costs had risen 5.9%.

Working families had been forced to contend with higher childcare costs, up 5.9% in a year, while many non-working families now had to pay council tax.

Families working full-time on the national minimum wage now had just 83% of the minimum income needed to support their families, said CPAG. The figure for lone parents was 87%

Families receiving out-of-work benefits faced greater shortfalls. Two-parent families received just 58% of the income they required to cover minimum costs, while lone parents got 61%.

CPAG said the universal credit introduced from October this year would have mixed results and both couples and lone parents working full-time on the minimum wage would still be left short of an "acceptable" living standard.