Academy Award-winning actress Dame Helen Mirren has described the situation as "heartbreaking" after a stark report from the children's charity Barnardo's suggested that approximately 300,000 children in the UK might not have a winter coat this year.
The Scale of the Crisis
New research commissioned by Barnardo's, for which Dame Helen is an ambassador, paints a grim picture of family finances as winter approaches. A YouGov survey conducted in October found that around 15% of parents in the UK will struggle to afford a coat or other warm clothing for their children. Disturbingly, about 2% of children surveyed admitted they do not own a winter coat at all.
The charity combined these findings with official ONS families and households data for 2024 to produce a national estimate. The analysis indicates that as many as 300,000 children could be without a winter coat, with a staggering 2.2 million parents finding it difficult to afford warm clothing for their families.
A Frontline Perspective
The statistical findings are corroborated by the experiences of Barnardo's own staff. In a separate survey of its frontline workers, almost half of the 870 respondents confirmed they have witnessed children and families going without essential clothing items.
Dame Helen Mirren shared her profound concern, stating, "When families are living from hand to mouth, as so many families are in the UK even today, it just takes one thing to go wrong, and they can be in a crisis." She reflected on her own post-war childhood, noting the financial struggles her family faced, but acknowledged her fortune that her father remained employed and healthy.
"It's heartbreaking that so many children will be hungry and cold this winter, and too many families will be dreading the festive season," she added.
Policy Context and Calls for Action
This crisis unfolds against a backdrop of record-high child poverty. Official figures for the year to March 2024 estimated 4.45 million children were living in households on relative low income, the highest number since comparable UK records began roughly two decades ago.
Barnardo's is among numerous organisations calling for the abolition of the two-child limit on benefits, a policy introduced in 2017 that restricts child tax credit and universal credit for the first two children in most households. There is growing anticipation that changes to this policy could be announced in the upcoming Budget.
Lynn Perry, Barnardo's chief executive, emphasised the hidden hardship, saying, "Behind the sparkle of the festive season we know there will be children worrying about having enough to eat, making do with a coat that's too small and feeling left out of the celebrations."
In response, the charity is urging the public to help by donating money or by dropping off unwanted, pre-loved children's winter coats at their local Barnardo's charity shop.
