One in three children across West Midlands ‘living in poverty’

MORE than 200,000 children in the West Midlands are living in poverty, new figures suggest.

The areas worst hit were revealed amid fears the cost of living crisis is only going to push more families to the brink.

In Sparkbrook South, in Birmingham, more than two thirds of children are classed as living in poverty, more than anywhere else in the region.

It is closely followed by neighbouring Sparkbrook North, making the area the city’s poverty capital.

The numbers are estimates based on DWP figures on the number of children living in families with a household income of less than 60% of the UK average as of March 2021, and population estimates from the Office for National Statistics as of mid-2020.

It comes as struggling families are battling to keep up with soaring household costs after energy bills and other charges shot up this month.

There are fears about how those who were barely keeping their heads above water as it was will manage, with a police chief even suggesting desperate parents could turn to prostitution and stealing.

Two thirds (67%) of children are below the poverty line in Sparkbrook South, latest figures show, and 63% in Sparkbrook North. Saltley East, Lozells East and Aston Park also have high levels of child poverty, with the figure for each of these areas 61%.

In the Black Country, Palfrey in Walsall has the most children living in poverty, at 53%.

The data was recorded in March 2021, meaning poverty levels could be even higher now families have been hit by soaring costs.

The poorest are also having to deal with a real-terms cut to benefits, with inflation outpacing rises to their payments.

Last year, there were 113,675 children in Birmingham living below the breadline and another 92,021 in the Black Country. That was a total of 205,696.

Before Covid, the number of children in the West Midlands living in poverty had been rising year on year, having increased from 86,299 in Birmingham and 66,570 kids in the Black Country in March 2015.

The worst spots in the Black Country are Palfrey, Walsall – 53%; Smethwick South – 46%; Greets Green East, West Bromwich and Walsall West – both 45%; Smethwick North and West and Smethwick East – both 44%; Kates Hill, Dudley – 43%

It means nearly one in three children in the region were living in poverty last year – but in some areas the situation is even more stark.