THE axing of government support is pushing people over the brink, experts warned today as new figures showed that almost four million children are living in relative poverty.

Data by the Department for Work and Pensions found that the estimated proportion of Britain’s children living in relative poverty in 2020/21 after housing costs was 27 per cent, while the equivalent figure for all individuals was 20 per cent.

At 3.9 million, the number of children in poverty in 2020/21 was lower than 4.3 million in 2019/2020 but still 300,000 higher than in 2010/11.