ONE IN THREE CHILDREN SURVEYED FEAR NO MERRY CHRISTMAS FOR FRIEND OR CLASSMATE THIS YEAR

As new research also finds 120,000 Welsh children facing bleak festive season on the breadline

• New Action for Children research finds over a third of children aged 8 to 18 surveyed in Wales fear a friend or classmate won’t get any presents (35%) or celebrate Christmas (34%) this year because their family can’t afford it. 

• As a new analysis of official figures show nearly one in five Welsh children (19%) are living in material deprivation, going without the basics like warmth, fresh food or a celebration this Christmas

• The charity’s frontline workers confirm pressure on struggling families is worse than last Christmas and highlight the desperate choices parents are being forced to make. 

• One worker in Powys reports finding a father in two coats and a blanket rather than putting the heating on while his disabled daughter was out of the house

• Public encouraged to be a Secret Santa for Action for Children to help a vulnerable child.

As millions get set to celebrate Christmas, new Action for Children research finds over a third of children aged 8 to 18 surveyed in Wales fear a friend or classmate won’t get any presents (35%) or celebrate Christmas (34%) this year because their family can’t afford it.  

To support its annual Secret Santa campaign to help the country’s most vulnerable children, the charity also worked with NatCen to analyse official government data on children living in material deprivation, collected before the worst of the cost of living crisis and energy price shock. 

It found nearly one in five (19%) Welsh children – an estimated 120,000 – are materially deprived, meaning their families can’t afford the basic items and activities the Government considers essential to a happy and healthy childhood.

The research also showed that an estimated: 

• 200,000 children live in families that can’t save at least £10 a month (35%); 
• 100,000 have parents who can’t replace broken essential electrical goods such as a fridge or washing machine (16%); 
• 100,000 have parents who can’t keep up with bills (9%); 
• 7% whose parents can’t afford to keep the house warm ; 
• 3% who can’t afford to have friends around for tea or a snack once a fortnight ; 

For a deeper understanding of what poverty looks like for these children in the run up to Christmas, Action for Children carried out surveys last month with children aged 8 to 18, and with nearly 200 of its frontline workers.   

Of 110 children polled in Wales: 

• Over a third worry a friend or someone in their class or year group won’t get any presents (35%) because their family can’t afford it, or be able to celebrate Christmas this year (34%) due to money worries;
• Almost four in ten (38%) worry a friend or classmate won’t have a warm home this winter because their family can’t afford to keep it heated; 
• A third (33%) worry a friend or classmate won’t have enough to eat or drink on a regular basis; and
• Almost a quarter (24%) are concerned a friend or classmate won’t be able to visit their family this Christmas as they can’t afford to travel to see them.

Of nearly 200 Action for Children frontline workers across the UK surveyed: 

• three-quarters (75%) said the current pressures on families and young people they support are worse than last year, with more than four in ten (43%) saying it’s much worse; 
• a third (32%) said energy bills and three in ten (30%) said food costs were the biggest financial concerns among those they’re supporting right now; and
• 15% said getting into – or deeper into – debt is a bigger concern this year compared to last (15% in 2023 vs 8% in 2022).

One worker described having to step up her support of a pregnant mum who divulged that she ‘hadn’t eaten for three days as she was prioritising the food for her children’. Another worker in South Wales talked of a family with three children under 12 who spent a weekend in the dark as they had no money to buy electricity. The children told the support worker, ‘… it had been scary in the night with just candles for light’.  

One ‘traumatised’ young person was ‘so worried about not being able to afford their energy bills … they [were] having cold showers, not using any heating, avoiding cooking and using the lights as little as possible.’ Many Action for Children workers’ day jobs now increasingly include having to provide poverty relief before any other support, as one admitted that most of their time ‘is taken up by making sure the children have basic provisions and warm clothing.’ 

Brigitte Gater, national director for Action for Children in Wales, said: ‘The magic of Christmas begins in childhood. But for children on the breadline up and down the UK, it’s anything but magical. How do you give a child a Christmas to remember when you’re going without food so they can eat? How can they experience the joy of Christmas if it’s just another day to go to bed hungry and to wake up cold?   

‘We’re seeing children without a bed sleeping on the floor with just blankets, and distressed families phoning us because they have no money to feed their children. We know missing out on essentials like these can scar a child’s whole life. This is why the UK Government must do more for them during this brutal and ongoing cost of living crisis, as well as deliver ambitious policies to end child poverty for good.  

‘The Chancellor talks about making work pay but our research¹ shows almost two million children in poverty live in families where their parents face at least one significant barrier to work, such as a disability, being a carer or being a lone parent trying to balance work with looking after a young child.  

‘Until every family has enough money to keep their child warm and well fed, we will continue to help them. That’s why we’re asking the public to get behind our Secret Santa campaign to help us support our most vulnerable children, not just at Christmas but every day.’ 

To become a Secret Santa for Action for Children visit iamsanta.org.uk 

Case study 

The cost-of-living crisis has been a significant cause of concern for Dylan, mid-Wales parent and sole carer for daughter, Kiera (15). The crisis saw him take action like not having the heating on when he was alone in the house last winter.  He wore two coats and wrapped himself in blankets to keep warm.  This prompted his Action for Children support worker to provide him with a supermarket food voucher to help him keep the heating on for longer.

Dylan would like to work but such are the responsibilities around looking after Kiera, he considers himself unemployable.  More social care support would allow him to work and contribute to the economy and was disappointed the social care plan mooted by government still hasn’t come to fruition.

He said: ‘I would love to work but for me, in my situation as a single parent carer I haven’t got the ability to do that. The reasons are there is no daycare outside of school hours and I cannot hold a job down because of my caring responsibilities.  But if there was a way I could do it which is to have more daycare, more help and support, I would.

 ‘So some of us can’t just go out and earn a bit more.  The more you support third sector organisations like Action for Children with after school clubs for example, then that would allow some parents to put more into the economy. There are ways you could do it but they said there was a social care plan and it still hasn’t happened.’