More than 4.2 million children in the UK are growing up in poverty, a number that has been rising over the last decade and is forecast to grow even further. Failure to disrupt and reverse this trend will have profound impacts on individual life chances, have intergenerational effects and exacerbate structural racialised inequalities.

This briefing brings together the expertise of three organisations: Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), Runnymede Trust and Women’s Budget Group to understand why Black and minority ethnic children are more likely to grow up in poverty, how this links to wider racial and gender disparities and what can be done to reduce child poverty and create a more equal society. It highlights relevant literature and draws on the real-life experiences and reflections of Black and minority ethnic parents living on a lower income in London.