Nearly one in two children living in poverty in parts of Northumberland
Nearly one in two children living in poverty in parts of Northumberland
Labour is calling on the Tories to do more to combat child poverty in Northumberland after new figures reveal nearly 50% of children in some of the county’s most deprived areas are living in poverty. The findings come from a report commissioned by MP for Wansbeck, Ian Lavery and reveals places in Northumberland with the highest levels of child poverty include parts of Newbiggin (46%), Seaton (44%), Berwick (42%) and Bedlington (42%), where nearly half the children are living in poverty. This compares to wards in more affluent areas such as Cramlington North (16.2%), Corbridge (18.6%) and Ponteland West (19.2%). The report also shares anecdotal evidence from teachers about children going hungry in the school holidays, not having winter coats for the colder months and one child coming to school in their grandmother’s shoes as they didn’t have their own pair. Scott Dickinson, Deputy Leader of the Labour Group in Northumberland Councillor for Druridge Bay, said: “This report reveals the growing divide in Northumberland under the Tories. It’s a scandal that you can travel from Cramlington to Newbiggin, a distance of less than 10 miles, and see an increase of a nearly a third more children living in poverty. The Tories have a lot to answer for, their savage cuts will be felt for generations to come and as always the poorest will take the brunt. “MP Ian Lavery's Wansbeck Child Poverty Report makes grim reading. In all cases the North East fares worse than the national average with 35 per cent of children in the North East living in poverty compared to a UK-wide figure of 30 per cent. “Labour councillors have been standing up for the many and not the few in Northumberland against a tide of Tory cuts. These child poverty statistics highlight Tory failings on a huge scale. Children are the future of Northumberland and we need to give them every opportunity we can.” The report highlights that in the Wansbeck constituency has a higher proportion of children who go hungry in the school holidays, have higher rates of tooth decay. Dedicated and concerned teachers are stepping in to provide the things that parents can't, and the state - for some reason - chooses not to. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Problems in areas such as Druridge Bay in Berwick-upon-Tweed, include hundreds of children are living below the breadline. The Tories under Boris have promised spending as a sweetener to get us to vote for them in the next election. In actual fact they are returning some, but by no means all of the money they took away in a decade of swingeing cuts.
