Cost of living: One in three children in North living in poverty
Children in the north of England are facing “unprecedented” levels of poverty, an MP has warned.
On Tuesday, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) published a report into child poverty and the cost-of-living crisis.
It states in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East, child poverty is at its highest level since 2000/2001.
In response, the government said millions of families were being given extra payments to help fund essentials.
APPG’s co-chair Emma Lewell-Buck, Labour MP for South Shields, said families were being “pushed to the edge”.
She said: “Whilst poverty is, sadly, not a new experience for many children in the north, the scale and severity of deprivation is now unprecedented.
“As the cost-of-living crisis worsens, vulnerable children and families, especially in the north, are being pushed to the edge.”
The report found:
- During the pandemic, 34% of children in the north (around 900,000) were living in poverty, compared with 28% in the rest of England
- Before the current crisis, around one million households in the north were fuel poor, proportionally more households than in the rest of England – 15% in the north compared to 12% elsewhere
- Families in the north are more likely to be living in poor quality, damp homes. Before living costs started to rise, more than 98,500 homes in the north already had some form of damp and 1.1 million homes in the north failed ‘decent homes’ criteria.
The report’s authors warn rising living costs will lead to immediate and lifelong harms for children, including worsening physical and mental health, undermined education and lower productivity.
Ms Lewell-Buck added: “This report outlines the injustice of deprivation in our country and presents policy measures that, if implemented, could ensure that children in our region are never left hungry, cold or without.”
Prof Kate Pickett, from the University of York, and co-author of the report, said the country risked seeing more children “falling deeper into poverty if measures aren’t implemented by government”.
