DWP rule means poorest families will 'have to sleep on floor'

The poorest families in the UK lack beds and are sleeping on floors, a charity has warned. A study by Buttle UK found most families had skipped a meal and many parents said they had given their bed to a child amid the Cost of Living crisis.

The study hit out at the ongoing two-child benefit cap from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Buttle UK, which supports children and young people in crisis, surveyed 1,567 of the families it supports. “Many parents alluded to giving their bed to their child or sharing it with them at night, while others simply told us that they were all sleeping on the floor because they had no other option,” the report said.

One respondent wrote: “My kids are sleeping on floor; I have 2 teenagers, one who is just in remission from leukaemia and still unwell. My other boy has bad feet and back pain, so it’s hard to walk.” The report said: “Parents and carers described high levels of sacrifice and self-denial to ensure that their children still ate. They themselves often went completely without, reporting the dire effects on their health and wellbeing.”

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One parent said: “I struggle to clothe and feed my son. I’m diabetic and often don’t eat more than one bowl of cereal a day, just to make sure my son has the food he needs.” Joseph Howes, the chief executive of Buttle UK, said: “The findings from this report are tough reading. What it shows us is that the cost of living ­crisis is by no means over – and we need urgent intervention from the government to stop things from getting even worse.

“The charity is calling on the government to lift the two-child benefit cap and significantly increase universal credit payments, as well as introduce a health strategy for young people in poverty and overhaul NHS children’s mental health services.”

A government spokesperson said: “No child should be in poverty – that’s why our new cross-government taskforce is kickstarting work to develop an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty and give children the best start in life. Alongside immediate action to protect vulnerable families through extending the household support fund, we will be reviewing universal credit, providing specialist mental health support in every school and rolling out free breakfast clubs in primary schools as we deliver our plan to tackle inequality and make work pay.”