Teesside area 'worst in region' for child poverty

A REPORT has placed Teesside as worst for the number of children in the North East growing up in poverty.

- By SUE KIRBY

The statistics reveal that 52% of children in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East are living in poverty - making it the worst in the region.

Campaigners and local charities are pressing the Government to turn pledges on child poverty into real action for North East children, following the findings of the new research published on Monday, June 2.

Last summer, the Government established a Ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce - committing to deliver “an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every child the best start at life”. However, a national plan has not been released.

The new analysis - carried out for the End Child Poverty coalition by Loughborough University - highlights how high rates of child poverty increasingly impact almost all parts of the North East.

It finds that:

■Two thirds of the region's constituencies have a child poverty rate at or higher than the UK average of 31%. This compares with 42% of all constituencies across the UK.

■More than half (52%) of all children in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East are growing up in poverty, followed by 43% of all children in Newcastle Central and West.