More than 170,000 children are living below the breadline in the North East, official figures show.
A total of 171,641 children were living in poverty in March 2021 - even before the cost of housing was taken into account.
This was an increase from 155,787 in March 2020 despite financial support from the Government during the start of the pandemic. The North East bucks the national trend, which saw the number of children living in poverty dip last year thanks to that support.
