Children in East London live in the poorest families
Jordan Chamberlain
Thursday, February 21, 2013
A UK child poverty map has been drawn up by the Campaign to End Child Poverty.
Tower Hamlets, London, is the local authority with the highest rate in the country with 42 per cent of children living in poverty, although it has dropped 10 percentage points since 2011.
Manchester (38 per cent), Middlesbrough (37 per cent) and Derry (35 per cent) all show very high child poverty rates for 2012.
The report shows separate lists for parliamentary constituencies and for local authorities. Areas of higher poverty are displayed in dark purple and are seen in the middle of large cities.
Prime Minister David Cameron’s constituency in Witney has ten per cent child poverty, whereas the leader of the opposition Ed Miliband’s constituency in Doncaster North is 23 per cent.
Enver Solomon, chair of the campaign, said, ‘The huge disparities that exist across the country have become more entrenched and are now an enduring reality, as many more children are set to become trapped in long term poverty and disadvantage.’
The gap between close-by areas is also a major worry. In London for example, the constituency of Poplar and Limehouse shows a child poverty rate of 41 per cent, compared to just seven per cent in Richmond.
Hackney had a child poverty rate of 30 per cent in 2012, down from 39 per cent in 2011 and Islington has dropped from 43 per cent in 2011 to 34 per cent in 2012.
According to Tim Nichols, End Child Poverty, ‘The drop in figures has more to do with the gap between the families with the lowest income and those with middle incomes decreasing.’ Low income families have not necessarily improved their situation it seems. ‘The recession has affected London less badly than other areas of the country, and parents have been able to go back to work. There is still a very low poverty baseline however,’ he added.
Will Higham, UK Director of Save the Children emphasised Mr. Solomon’s points. ‘These are children growing up on the edge, or missing out on basic essentials; a warm home, decent clothes and enough food. These are tough times but every child deserves a fair chance and a good start in life,’ he said.
