Welfare reform calls to end child poverty
NEW figures show that child poverty is increasing in the Staffordshire Moorlands.
The majority of constituencies in the West Midlands had seen a rise in child poverty, even before the Covid-19 pandemic.
National poverty charity Turn2us revealed that 35 per cent of children are now in poverty in the West Midlands.
Stagnating incomes, high housing costs and cuts to the social security system have pushed many families to the brink. The rise in poverty comes despite most families working.
The proportion of children living in poverty who are in working households has increased from 67 per cent five years ago to 75 per cent now.
Figures for the Staffordshire Moorlands show that 3,447 children are living in poverty – 27.4 per cent of children.
This is an increase for the period of 2015 to 2020 of 3.5 per cent.
Sara Willcocks, head of external affairs at Turn2us, said: “The impact of growing up in poverty is well documented; children in low income households have worse mental and physical health, they do less well in schools, and have fewer opportunities in the future.
“This is why it is morally unacceptable for any child, let alone millions, to be allowed to grow up in financial hardship.
“Unfortunately, our children are now paying the debt for a decade of austerity, cuts and freezes. Wages have been allowed to remain low, rents have been free to rise, and nothing has been done to tackle the soaring cost of living. If the government truly believes in compassion and justice, ministers must fully commit to solving it. We are urging the Prime Minister to listen to our recommendations and include them in a comprehensive strategy to end child poverty once and for all.”
Leek district and county councillor Charlotte Atkins said: “The increased use of foodbanks has exposed the rise in poverty in the Moorlands and elsewhere.
“But poverty does not just impact on having enough to eat. It can blight the lives of children forever.
“We are lucky to live in such a lovely area as the Moorlands, but we cannot airbrush away the poverty of nearly three and a half thousand children who have been failed by our welfare system.
“Most of those children will have had a particularly difficult time during the pandemic lockdowns and will have missed out on remote learning, and may have fallen well behind their classmates.
“They need urgent additional support to ensure those lost months of learning can be restored by intensive educational work.”
Leek’s newly elected mayor, Councillor Lyn Swindlehurst, said: “A society is judged by how it cares for those we perceive as vulnerable, none more so than children.
“The Turn2us figures relating to child poverty in the Staffordshire Moorlands are devastating.
“Child poverty was rising well before the pandemic but the effects on job losses, income loss, Universal Credit and zero hours contacts has left many families, including those in in-work poverty, struggling to pay for essentials like food, heating, rent and childcare.
“The gradual rise in reliance on foodbanks for families is a sad indictment to the plight of children living without basic life needs. Children who receive an inadequate diet often experience health issues in later life.
“The need for children to have access to electronic means to supplement their education may affect their psychological and development needs, therefore impacting on their future.
“The Child Poverty Action group states that the UK is in child poverty crisis, requiring urgent action.
“A reform in Universal Credit, social security and social care provision is long overdue. We must not allow children to be neglected by the current government.”