Immediate support is needed for families living in poverty
Published: 27 October 2026
Ahead of the 2026 Autumn Budget, Changing Realities is calling for urgent support from the UK Government for families living in poverty.
Ahead of the 2026 Autumn Budget, Changing Realities is calling for urgent support from the UK Government for families living in poverty.
The University of Glasgow based partnership of 200 parents and carers on a low-income has issued a policy brief that shares real-time evidence on the impacts of the cost of living crisis on families who are already struggling to make ends meet.
Funded by the Nuffield Foundation as part of their US-Iran conflict rapid response call, the research finds that essentials are hitting hardest, with parents describing sharp rises in food, energy and fuel as costs they cannot cut any further.
Parents are already going without, skipping meals, turning off heating and electricity, and cutting familiar foods and activities for their children.
The research also found that where you live changes the cost; rural families often need a car and heating oil, and one-off payments fall far short of the bill.
Ultimately, support is not keeping pace. One-off or partial help will not close the gap - support must be adequate, long-term, and available to families currently left out, including those with No Recourse to Public Funds.
Changing Realities urges the UK Government to commit to immediate action that provides some meaningful breathing space for families facing a daily struggle to get by. Targeted support to those who have the highest needs should be provided through a one-off crisis payment, that varies with household size.
At the same time, the Budget provides an opportunity to make good on Andy Burnham’s pledge that his will be a “cost of living government”. Taking sustainable and long-term steps to secure the adequacy of social security would be a vital step, and there is particular scope in restoring the real value of Child Benefit, traditionally a vital source of support with the additional costs that come with children.
A cost-free change that would make an immediate difference to families in poverty, and to the prospect of longer-term and more radical change, would be for policymakers across the UK, and especially the UK Labour Government, to commit to speaking positively about social security, as a vital part of the wider welfare state.
Ruth Patrick, Professor of Public and Social Policy at the University of Glasgow, led this research. She said: "Families on a low-income have exhausted all options for cutting back, and doing without essentials, routinely leaving the heating off when it’s cold, or restricting their food shopping to the reduced aisle. Parents and carers from up and down the UK tell us they simply cannot get through another winter without urgent and much-needed support in Wednesday’s budget.
"Right now, far too many families are facing a perfect storm of poverty, high and rising costs for basic essentials, and real fear about what this winter will bring. Healey’s budget must deliver urgent and targeted change for these families and this should be seen as a litmus test against which Andy Burnham’s promise to make his a cost of living government should be judged."
First published: 27 October 2026