Child poverty in North East ‘can only get worse’
THERE are fears that the North East’s child poverty crisis “is only going to get worse”, after the region was named as the UK’S new deprivation capital.
Harrowing figures released by the End Child Poverty Coalition have revealed that the proportion of children growing up in poverty in the North East is now 38% and rising, overtaking London where rates are falling.
National child poverty in the UK fell to its lowest level in seven years in the first year of the pandemic, but has rocketed from 26% to 38% in our region between 2014 and 2021. And there are fears that the cost of living crisis and the withdrawal of the £20 Universal Credit uplift last year will push more and more families into hardship.
The Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim Mcguinness, echoed calls for the Government to take urgent action to reverse the trend. She said: “These figures are both disgraceful and heartbreaking.
“Kids of the North East are constantly being let down by those at the top. Alarm bells have been ringing for years but have been falling on deaf ears. Levelling Up has been nothing more than a myth, a soundbite - fake news from fake promises.
“Things are set to get worse but there is no plan for real investment, real jobs, real opportunities - the things that will help struggling families, improve lives and support our young people so they thrive here in the North East.”
Newcastle has seen the biggest increase in children growing up poor of anywhere in the UK over the last seven years, up from 28.4% in 2014/5 to 42.4% in 2020/21. The city council said it was “determined to reduce child poverty, but Government must give us the tools to do it”.
Labour councillor Sylvia Copley, the council’s cabinet member responsible for children, said: “Sadly, I don’t think it will come as any surprise that child poverty rates across the North East are rising. But what is really worrying is that we find ourselves in the biggest cost-of-living crisis the country has seen for a generation so it’s safe to assume that the problem is only going to get worse.
“Reducing child poverty is one of our political priorities - as a council we are doing our best to support families with free school meals for children, free holiday activities and financial support, but we can only give out what we get from Government, and the current level of need far outweighs what we can give.”
Trades Union Congress Northern regional secretary Liz Blackshaw added that the cost-of-living crisis is “only going to get worse as the winter sets in and energy prices continue to rise” and called on the government to “address the blight of insecure work and reform our social security system”.
A Government spokesperson said: “The latest figures show there were 500,000 fewer children in absolute poverty after housing costs than in 2009/10. But we recognise people are struggling with rising prices which is why we are protecting the eight million most vulnerable families with at least £1,200 of direct payments, starting this week.
“Through our £37bn support package we are saving the typical employee over £330 a year through a tax cut this month, allowing people on Universal Credit to keep £1,000 more of what they earn and in April we significantly increased the National Living Wage to £9.50, the largest ever rise.”