A report has suggested that UK is in danger of slipping back into a Victorian-age gap between mainstream society and an impoverished underclass.

Covid lockdowns had a “catastrophic effect” on the nation’s social fabric and the most disadvantaged are no better off now than at the time of the financial crash.

The CSJ’s Social Justice Commission’s report, Two Nations: The State Of Poverty In The UK, argues that the most disadvantaged in Britain are no better off than 15 years ago, the time of the financial crash, and cites evidence that for them the jump from welfare into work is not worth it.

Some 13.4 million people lead lives marred by family fragility, stagnant wages, poor housing, chronic ill-health, and crime, the centre says.

The CSJ study also finds that the pandemic lockdowns had a “catastrophic effect” on the nation’s social fabric, especially for the least well-off, where the gap between the so-called “haves” and “have nots” was blown wide open.

The report says: “During lockdown calls to a domestic abuse helpline rose 700%; mental ill health in young people went from one in nine to one in six and nearly a quarter amongst the oldest children; severe absence from school jumped 134%; 1.2 million more people went on working-age benefits, 86% more people sought help for addictions; prisoners were locked up for 22.5 hours per day.

“There is a growing gap between those who can get by and those stuck at the bottom.”

Six in 10 of the general public say that their area has a good quality of life, but this drops to less than two in five of the most deprived.]

Just one in nine children were assessed as having a clinically recognisable mental health problem 20 years ago.

That figure is now one in five, rising to nearly one in four for those aged 17-19.

If trends continue, the report argues that by 2030 over one in four five to 15-year-olds, which may be as many as 2.3 million children, could have a mental disorder.

There are likely to be 108 per cent more boys with mental health disorders by 2030 than there would have been if the lockdown had not happened, the CSJ adds.

After higher benefits, the most deprived cite improved mental and physical health as pivotal to a better life.

The report has found that 40 per cent of the most disadvantaged report having a mental health condition compared to just 13 per cent of the general population.

The report says: “Britain is sick but being sick pays.

“The total UC caseload has risen by 106 per cent since March 2020 and the number of claimants with No Work Requirements has increased by 186 per cent.

“There are over 2.6 million people economically inactive because of long term sickness, an increase of nearly 500,000 since the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Over half of those signed off (53 per cent) reported depression, bad nerves or anxiety.

“The most disadvantaged view mental ill health as the biggest factor holding them back, which only comes fifth for the general public.”

Lord King, the former governor of the Bank of England, and one of those who produced the report, said: “Money is not the only solution to the problem of deprivation.

“No family is perfect, and families come in all different shapes and sizes.

“This report makes for deeply uncomfortable reading"

“But if we are able to do more to support the family, then we can prevent the creation of an ‘unhappy generation’.”

Andy Cook, chief executive of the Centre for Social Justice, said: “This report makes for deeply uncomfortable reading.

“Lockdown policy poured petrol on the fire that had already been there is the most disadvantaged people’s lives, and so far no one has offered a plan to match the scale of the issues.

“What this report shows is that we need far more than discussions on finance redistribution, but a strategy to go after the root causes of poverty, education, work, debt, addiction and family.”