MORE than a quarter of children whose parents are social care workers are growing up in poverty, a new TUC study published yesterday reveals.

The shocking analysis, conducted by Landman Economics, indicates that 220,000 kids with at least one parent employed in the care sector — 28.4 per cent of the total — are in families struggling to make ends meet.

That total is set to rise to nearly 300,000 by 2024 if ministers continue to call for workers to show “wage restraint” in the face of soaring inflation and record-high energy bills, the union body stressed.