SOME 14.4 million people were living in poverty in the UK last year, official figures revealed today, leading to the government being accused of deliberately choosing not to give them the help they need.

Those in poverty included 4.2 million children, up from 3.9 million the previous year, and 2.1 million pensioners, the Department for Work and Pensions statistics show.

There were also 1.5 million more people in poverty in working households than in 2010.

Poverty in Britain is defined as affecting those with an income below 60 per cent of average earnings.

The Action for Children charity accused ministers of “snatching help away” from families, such as the £20 universal credit uplift paid during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Director of policy and campaigns Imran Hussain said: “Ministers know what works but are choosing not to do it. 

“[They] should increase the child element of universal credit by at least £15 a week and scrap the benefit cap to lift nearly 320,000 children out of poverty.

“They could also break down the big barriers preventing parents from working and protect the living standards of those who can’t work or can’t work any more than they do already.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak blasted the government for choosing to reward wealth, not work.

“If you work hard, you shouldn’t have to worry about making ends meet,” he said. 

“But working poverty has rocketed under Conservative governments since 2010. Pay and social security have been held down year after year, while the rich get tax breaks and bankers get unlimited bonuses.

“We need a different kind of government making different choices. A government with a plan to get pay rising across the economy. A government that rewards work instead of wealth.”

The figures also show that 800,000 children live in a family forced to use foodbanks.

Save the Children UK head of child poverty Becca Lyon said: “Families need a proper benefits system that protects them from hardship and means children can grow up without having to know what the inside of a foodbank looks like.”

Scottish Labour called on the next first minister to make tackling poverty in Scotland a priority.

The party’s social justice spokeswoman Pam Duncan-Glancy said that the Tory and SNP governments had both “failed miserably to protect people from the cost-of-living crisis.”