MORE than four million children are in poverty, new government statistics show as household incomes “ground to a halt” and absolute poverty rose last year.

And nearly three quarters (70 per cent) of children on the breadline had at least one parent in work. according to new data revealed today by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The total number of people living in relative poverty in 2018 stood at 14 million — a slight decrease from 14.3m in 2017 — but the number in absolute poverty rose. Two hundred thousand more children were recorded in absolute poverty.