Family Action, a charity supporting families through change, challenge, and crisis, has highlighted the severe impact of the cost-of-living crisis on Birmingham families, forcing many to choose between essentials.
Statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions, published in March 2025, reveal that 102,507 children in Birmingham were living below the breadline before housing costs in the year to April 2025. End Child Poverty's 2025 local analysis further shows that the West Midlands had the highest regional child poverty rate in the UK, at 36 per cent.
Charity Sounds Alarm on Rising Hardship
Alice Bath, operational manager at Family Action, told BirminghamLive: "The figures show just how stark the situation is for children and families in Birmingham. Behind those numbers are families making very difficult choices every day, between food and fuel, between replacing school uniform and paying a bill, or between travelling to an appointment and keeping money aside for essentials."
Bath noted that the cost-of-living crisis is affecting both working families and those receiving Universal Credit. "Some parents are in work and still cannot cover rising rents, food, energy and travel costs. Others are trying to manage on benefits that do not keep pace with the real cost of essentials," she added.
Impact on Children and Families
Bath warned that with poverty levels so high in the West Midlands, there is a danger that children may begin to accept hardship as normal. "For children, poverty can affect every part of life. It can mean going to school hungry, not having the right uniform or equipment, living in overcrowded or poor-quality housing, missing out on activities, struggling to get online to do homework, or feeling the stress and worry that comes with family hardship," she said.
Family Action is seeing more food insecurity, housing instability, digital exclusion, and families presenting with multiple issues simultaneously. "The danger is that children start to accept hardship as normal, not having enough space, not having enough food, not being able to join in, or seeing their parents constantly under pressure. That should never be accepted as a way of life," Bath concluded.
