Report shows scale of child poverty in Western Wards

Almost one in ten children living in Park Gate is classed as being in poverty according to a new poverty map published today (Tuesday January 10).

Nine per cent of children in Park Gate are classed as being in poverty – worse than the average for the whole of Fareham, which is eight per cent.

However that figure is still considerably better than the national average – which shows that one in five children across the country, or 20 per cent, is in poverty.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty has published its poverty map of Great Britain which shows that the London Borough of Tower Hamlets is the worst area in the UK for child poverty with more than half its youngsters classed as being in poverty.

Children were classed as in poverty if their family’s income fell below 60 per cent of the average income of £25,000 – which is £15,000.

Park Gate was bottom of the table for the Western Wards. The percentage of children in poverty in the other wards was:

• Titchfield – eight per cent
• Titchfield Common – five per cent
• Warsash – five per cent
• Locks Heath – four per cent
• Sarisbury – three per cent (the lowest rate in the whole of Fareham)

The government says it is “tackling the root causes of poverty.”

A total of 89 constituencies already meet the government’s headline target for 2020 by having child poverty rates of 10% or lower, the report said.

It warned tax and benefit changes outlined in the recent Autumn Statement showed the greater burden was being placed on society’s poor, which “not only puts children’s wellbeing at risk, it carries economic risks too”.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies recently warned a couple with two children will be £1,250 a year worse off by 2015 as families “shoulder the burden of austerity”.

At below 60 per cent of the average income of £25,000, families struggle to meet basic needs like food, heating, transport, clothing, school equipment and trips.

The report used tax credit data to examine the proportion of children living in low income homes, also taking into account recent unemployment to estimate changes in the number of children falling into poverty because their parents have been made redundant.

Campaign executive director Alison Garnham said: “The child poverty map paints a stark picture of a socially segregated Britain where the life chances of millions of children are damaged by poverty and inequality.”

More details on the report from Campaign to End Child Poverty

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