The Government has been slammed after shocking figures revealed the scale of the sharp rise in child poverty across the North East.
Figures compiled by Loughborough University for the End Child Poverty Campaign estimate that almost 190,000 children in the region were living below the poverty line in 2021/22 after housing costs were taken into account - an increase on 50,000 since 2015.
The data also showed that more than two-thirds (67%) of those children had parents who are in work, with the increase being the steepest in the UK since local data was first collected in 2014/15.
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The figures cover a period prior to the current cost of living crisis, leading to fears that the actual rate of child poverty could be even higher. Following the release of the data, the Government has been criticised by local Labour politicians.
Shadow cabinet member for children and young people at Northumberland County Council, Julie Foster, said: “The last 13 years have seen child poverty rise in a way that should simply be unthinkable in a rich modern country like ours.
"The number of children living in poverty is highest in the North East. We’re seeing families where parents are working, having to rely on foodbanks just to get by. This Government has plunged thousands of families into poverty. They should be ashamed of the damage they have done."
Responding to Coun Foster's comments, the Government pointed out that it believes so-called "absolute poverty" is a better measure of living standards than "relative poverty". The absolute poverty line is fixed in real terms, so provides a better measure of how the incomes of the lowest earners compares with changes in the cost of living.
According to the Government, absolute poverty will only increase if low-income households are worse-off financially, whereas relative poverty can increase even if low-income households’ incomes are rising.
A Government spokesman said: "We have helped nearly two million people, including 400,000 children, out of absolute poverty since 2010 and have launched a £94billion cost of living support package worth around £3,300 per household.
“In 2021/22, children living in workless households were around five times more likely to be in absolute poverty than those where all adults work, which is why we are boosting our childcare offer to help more parents return to work and keep more of their earnings.”
According to the DWP's figures released in March, in 2019/20 there were 11.7 million people living in relative poverty in the UK, equivalent to 18% of the population. In the same period, there were 9.2 million classed as being in absolute poverty - equivalent to 14%.
According to the Government's Leeds Observatory site, the relative poverty threshold for a couple with no children was £300 week in 2021/22 after housing costs, while the threshold for absolute poverty for the same couple would be £270 after housing costs.
The Government also pointed out it has increase the amount parents can claim back for childcare costs on universal credit, is now helping with the cost of the first month's child care for parents entering work or upping their hours and has increased the minimum wage as well as benefits.
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