Nursery World - An extra one million families will be living below the Minimum Income Standard by 2015

Government welfare and tax changes, together with lower than forecast wage growth, will leave the majority of children in the UK living below the breadline within the next two years, according to new research by the TUC.

A Bleak Future for Families examines the current and future impact of various benefit and welfare changes, including the Universal Credit, direct and indirect tax changes, and real wage growth since 2010 on the incomes of different households and family types.

It says that an extra one million families will be living below the Minimum Income Standard by 2015 - the level of income needed to achieve a minimum acceptable standard of living in the UK - compared to where they would have been under the policies and forecasts the Government inherited in 2010.

The current Minimum Income Standard for a single parent with two children is £23,992, rising to £24,643 for a couple with one child.

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