City St George's academic urges MPs to tackle 'deep poverty'

April 17, 2026

South London News Smart London Desk Edited By Jimmy Nsubuga

A top academic from City St George's, University of London, has told Parliament that the Government's strategy to tackle child poverty needs a serious rethink. Dr Matt Barnes believes current measures don't go deep enough to help families struggling the most.

Experts call for better poverty measures

Dr Matt Barnes, a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at City St George's, gave evidence to a joint parliamentary committee. The inquiry is looking at the Government's strategy to combat child poverty.

He highlighted that many families face a combination of issues. These can include low pay, unstable housing, debt, and caring responsibilities.

When these problems stick around for years, it's what experts call 'deep poverty'. Dr Barnes argued that current government figures don't fully capture this.

“People in poverty don’t have the same circumstances,” Dr Barnes told the Committee. “What we are missing [in Government statistics and policy packages] is families that have multiple poverty factors. These families need more joined up policy solutions.”

New centre to focus on complex poverty

Dr Barnes is also co-leading a new Centre for Poverty and Innovation at City St George's. This centre will focus specifically on deep and complex poverty.

He hopes the Government's strategy will include targets for persistent and deep poverty. This, he says, will help measure if policies are actually reaching those who need them most.

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South London News Smart London Desk Edited By Jimmy Nsubuga

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