Call for action to end child poverty in the North East
Date published:
The Chamber’s latest column for The Journal by Erika Armanino, knowledge and research executive.
According to the North East Child Poverty Commission, almost all North East council areas have seen some of the UK’s highest increases in child poverty.
In 2021/2022, almost 35% of babies, children and young people across our region were living below the poverty line – an increase of around 51,000 since 2014/15.
The research showed that 21 of the North East’s 29 Westminster constituencies had more than one in three children living below the poverty line, with the highest rates in Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Gateshead, South Shields and Redcar.
This suggests equality is further away than ever according to the current levels of poverty. So, what can we do to create a more equal North East?
One measure could be to ease guidelines for eligibility for free school meals. Currently, free school meals are only available to children in Reception and in Year One and Year Two. Children in the classes above are only eligible if their households have an income lower than £7,400 – after tax – and if they’re on Universal Credit. Children with parents on Income Support and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance are also eligible for the scheme.
This policy was launched in 2018 and has not been updated since, despite the rising cost of living that families have faced during the past years. This policy leaves out many children whose families do not fall under the criteria. The danger of these diversifications between who is eligible and who is not has a significant impact on a child’s life and on building a fairer and more equal North East.
The region urgently needs a long-term strategy to reduce and end child poverty. Easing some of the policy restrictions such as the ‘two-child limit’ in Universal Credit or reducing Universal Credit debt deductions may also be a good starting point.
As a Chamber, we understand that quality of educational access can address child poverty and, ahead of the Budget, we called on the Chancellor for action across five key pillars, including education and participation, to support a stronger, fairer North East.
We also launched the levelling up report which includes contributions from the region’s leading businesses and details what levelling up will mean for the region. Levelling up aims to reduce regional inequalities and create access to opportunities across the UK.
We will continue to work with the region’s business, other Chambers and government to address child poverty.