Metric permalink

Child poverty after housing costs

Official

Part of the Childhood and Social Floor domain. Proportion of children living in households below 60% of median income after housing costs, the principal measure of child poverty in the UK.

Latest data

Latest reading

Latest value
27% of children

FYE 2025

Previous value
27% of children
no change

Change between the two latest observations (FYE 2025 to FYE 2025), in stress score.

Direction of badnesshigher is worse

A higher reading is treated as worse for this indicator.

Score composition

Stress score

43/100

Since the August 2026 release

−1 ptsfrom 44 to 43

What changed on this indicator between the two releases: method only.

Blended from two measured components: (2/3 weight) and trend (1/3 weight); where no trend can be computed the metric is scored on its level alone. Volatility is published as a diagnostic and does not enter the blend. Full formula on the methodology page.

Level · 2/3 weight

40bounds

Bounds: scored against fixed best/worst limits, used until a metric has about eight years of verified data to rank against.

Trend · 1/3 weight

50stable

Neutral: the latest reading matches the one before it, so no change is measured.

Volatility · diagnostic, not blended

50

Provisional: fewer than four historical readings are available, so this defaults to a mid range score rather than a measured figure.

Data confidence and provenance

Confidence and source

0.85High0.85

How much weight to put on the reading, the mean data-confidence across the component metrics (source quality, recency and completeness).

Source

Department for Work and PensionsOfficial

Children in Low Income Families

Update frequency
Annual
Reliability
high
View source series ↗

Provenance

Provider
Department for Work and Pensions
Series ID
dwp_cilif
Frequency
Annual
Accessed
16 June 2026

Known weakness

Annual publication carries a 12-month lag; the relative measure can show falling child poverty during recessions when median income also falls. A FYE2022 admin-data switch is a structural break, so year-on-year deltas across that boundary are misleading.

Notes

Verified official value from Department for Work and Pensions (dwp_cilif), accessed 2026-06-16.

Historical values

History

PeriodValueRelative
FYE 202527