Britain faces baby bust as birth rates plummet. Now is the time to adapt the economy

Increasing numbers of parents are delaying or shelving plans to have children as a result of the pandemic. This will exacerbate the nation’s demographic time bomb as the population ages, writes James Moore

Britain faces a baby bust as the pandemic puts parents off having children (Getty)

The UK is set for a baby bust in 2021. In its annual economic predictions, PwC says that thanks to the pandemic the number of births could fall to their lowest level since records began.

Economic forecasters have a mixed record but there are good grounds for thinking the compilers of the professional service firm’s report, published this morning, are on to something.

A steady drip feed of data indicates that much of the developed world is facing a sharp decline in fertility. When Italian researchers conducted surveys in five European nations in April 2020, 58 per cent of the UK respondents who had been planning children said they had decided to postpone pregnancy. A further 19 per cent had scrapped the idea.