Almost half of North East families with children under the age of five are living in poverty, a new study says, with the region having significantly the highest rate in the country.
The report by Little Village, a baby bank helping families in London, and the national Joseph Rowntree Foundation, found that around 47% of families with young children in the region are in poverty, with around 100,000 pre-school children affected. Child poverty campaigners in the North East have called the figures “simply intolerable”, and say the Government has to take action if its ‘levelling up’ promise to the North East and other regions is to have any meaning.
The report - It Takes a Village - found that child poverty levels are even higher for children with a disabled parent, children in single-parent household and children from racial minorities. Increasing numbers of families in poverty have at least one parent in work. It has called on the Government to improve childcare and make changes to the benefit system to tackle rising levels of child poverty.
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Sophie Livingstone, CEO of Little Village, said: “This new report highlights the appalling scale and depth of poverty faced by over a million babies and young children across the country. The figures are shocking but behind the numbers there are young children with no space to crawl and play; families unable to feed their children three regular meals each day; babies sleeping on the floor because their families are unable to afford a cot.
“It is utterly shocking that so many young children are living in poverty in the UK, one of the richest nations on earth. A combination of factors including rising living costs, soaring energy bills, extortionate childcare costs and benefits cuts look set to create the worst year on record for families trapped in poverty.”
The report’s authors are calling for action to ensure more affordable childcare, more investment into early years services and changes to Universal Credit to lift more young children out of poverty.
Reacting to the report, Amanda Bailey, director of the North East Child Poverty Commission, said: “It is simply intolerable that almost half of the youngest children across the North East are now growing up in poverty – and that this figure continues to rise year on year. All the evidence tells us that experiencing poverty in the first years of childhood can have hugely damaging and long-term effects on children’s life chances – impacting brain development, physical health and mental wellbeing, educational outcomes, future employment opportunities and even life expectancy.
“There is therefore little prospect of communities and families across our region being ‘levelled up’ unless meaningful, joined-up action is taken across all levels of government to tackle poverty levels for children, and particularly the youngest children, in the North East.”
The levels of families with pre-school children living in poverty has been rising steadily in recent years, increasing from 42% two years ago and 46% last year. The North East figure of 47% is significantly higher than the next worst level - London, at 41% - and well above Northern Ireland, where 27% of families with children aged under five are in poverty.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has been contacted for comment.
