British children living in 'unbearable poverty' as students make school breakfast plea

More than three-quarters of children’s doctors say poverty-related illness has increased over the last two years, as they warned of an “unbearable level” of hardship among kids.

Some 96% of paediatricians said poor living conditions like damp and mould were contributing to ill health, a grim survey shows. They said children on chemotherapy have died because they have caught fungal infections from dire housing.

And 95% said poverty was stopping kids attending appointments because parents can’t afford to take time off work or pay for transport or parking. Some 78% of children’s medics said the number of kids with poverty-related ill-health has increased in the last two years, while 79% said it is becoming more severe.

In one devastating story, a doctor said a child with diabetes was not taking her insulin during the night because her family could not pay for the heating and she didn’t have the energy to get up when it was very cold.

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Another doctor said they had written more letters in the last two years to ask housing providers to address damp and mould for children with chronic respiratory conditions than in the previous 18 years of their consultant career.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), which carried out the survey, called for the two-child benefit limit to be scrapped to help reduce child poverty. It also urged ministers to introduce an enhanced Young Patients Family Fund to help families cover the costs of attending hospital appointments.

The research comes as children’s charity Magic Breakfast on Wednesday gathered in Parliament Square with pupils and teachers to call for a stronger, more inclusive school breakfast policy to reduce child poverty.

Labour has committed to bringing in free breakfast for all primary schoolchildren but Magic Breakfast warns the current plan risks leaving out some of the most vulnerable kids, including older students with special educational needs.

Speaking outside Parliament, Labour MP Sharon Hodgson said expanding free breakfasts to more kids could help tackle the health crisis. “The health aspect of hungry children, the malnutrition that we’re seeing in schools, this is the other aspect that this policy can really help with,” she told The Mirror.

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Teacher Sharon Pourou, who manages breakfast clubs at Franciscan primary school in south London, said it also helps kids’ mental health. “It's not just about food. It's about the greeting. So it's about children coming into school and really getting started for the day, by a face, by a welcome, by a hello… not only does it impact their learning, it impacts their mental health,” she said.

Kathy Voss, campaigns manager at Magic Breakfast, welcomed the government’s policy to roll out free breakfast clubs to all primary school children but said more needed to be done to protect pupils with special educational needs and those in the most disadvantaged secondary schools.

“We are concerned that there are some gaps. We really, in order for it to have the impact that we think it can have, it needs to be a roll out that works for schools, works for children, and really reaches the children most at risk of hunger,” she said.

Students also attended the rally to call for an expansion of free breakfasts in secondary schools. Arabella Gibbs, 17 , said a “healthy breakfast means a healthy mind”, adding: “It’s so important to start your day with proper nutrition so that we can focus, to get GCSEs, to get A-levels and to open doors for us in the future.”

Isa Mostofa, 15, said free breakfasts would help to ensure older pupils, who have bigger workloads, are “properly fuelled”. “Within secondary schools, it's definitely not feasible to be tired,” he said. “If you're tired within the secondary school, and the workload is too much, it's not going to work.”

Praisel Okoro-Maduka, 15, said breakfast is something that’s “forgotten” by teens, adding: “People are not having the best sleep schedules. They're not waking up at the correct times and not eating the right amounts at home, so free breakfast at school encourages people to get these healthy requirements and help them with their learning.”

Dr Helen Stewart, RCPCH’s officer for health improvement, said: “Child poverty in the UK is at an unbearable level, and as a paediatrician, I am deeply concerned by the condition of children arriving at frontline health services.”

Alison Garnham, CPAG’s chief executive, said: “Poverty is exacting an appalling toll on the nation’s children. “Blue lights are flashing at government, and without urgent action the health of the next generation will be compromised," he said.

“Children deserve better and government’s child poverty strategy must invest in their futures, starting by scrapping the two-child limit.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to "leave no stone unturned to give every child the very best start at life" when the ministerial child poverty taskforce was announced last year. The strategy had been due to be published in spring, but was subsequently delayed until autumn to align with the Chancellor's budget.

A Government spokesperson said: “Every child – no matter their background – deserves the best start in life. That’s why we are rolling out family hubs to provide health, education and wellbeing support, investing £500million in children's development and taking preventative action as part of our 10 Year Health Plan.

“As part of our Plan for Change our Child Poverty Taskforce will publish an ambitious strategy to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty, and we are already expanding free school meals, introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions, and ensuring the poorest children don’t go hungry in the holidays through a new £1 billion support package.”

::: RCPCH received 371 survey responses from its members in April and June 2025.

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