Shocking figures released last month showed that levels of child poverty in the North East have risen by almost 50% in the last seven years to become the worst in the country.
The most recent data showed the North East bucking the national trend and getting worse, with 42% of young people in Newcastle now living below the poverty line. That figure is almost certainly an underestimate, however, as the reversal of the temporary Universal Credit uplift and the rise in the cost-of-living are pushing more people into financial difficulties.
It was in that context that Gwen Hines, CEO of Save the Children UK, visited Tyneside to see some of the work the charity and other organisations do in the region to help people suffering from the affects of poverty. Though many people associate Save the Children with disasters overseas, it also has a UK operation that is part of the End Child Poverty Coalition, the body that produced the startling figures on the numbers of children now growing up poor.
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“We obviously shouldn’t have the need,” Ms Hines said. “We shouldn’t have this level of child poverty in the UK, one of the richest countries in the world. But there are families in a rich country that are really struggling and that’s the challenge for us.
“Our work is grounded in child rights: all children have the right to a good education, to not live in poverty and to get the best start in life. But there are kids in the UK who are not getting this opportunity. We work all over the world in 120-odd countries and we very much aim to make sure in all those countries, kids get the opportunity to grow up and achieve their potential. As Save the Children UK, we obviously think we need to make sure that, in our own backyard, kids are being helped as well.
“People always say that charity starts at home. It starts at home but it doesn’t end at home. We have to care about kids all the way around the world. But we do have to look at what’s happening here as well.”
While the cost-of-living crisis is impacting families around the country, a number of studies show a disproportionate impact on poorer areas, many of them in the North East.
“Something’s definitely going wrong,” Ms Hines said. “What you see is a real mix of some areas nearby with real affluence and then some areas with poor quality housing, people struggling to pay rent and their council tax, really struggling to pay for childcare.
“A lot of these are families who are actually in work, but they’re not earning enough to actually pay for the basics. By the time you’ve paid your rent, your council tax and energy bills, which are obviously going through the roof, there is very, very little left for food, never mind childcare or kids being able to play, that kind of thing. They’re really struggling.
“Some of the old places where people used to work disappeared, so those high quality jobs are disappearing. It really is shocking that the North East has higher levels of poverty than London, even taking account of housing costs. You’ve got strong communities here and people want to stay in this area with their families, but there’s very little opportunity for some.”
With the Bank of England forecasting inflation could get as high as 13% this year and the UK economy likely to tip into a recession, there is a frustration among many that issues such as child poverty are not figuring high on the agenda of the Conservative leadership race.
“It’s great that people are beginning to talk about levelling up and the cost of living,” Ms Hines said. “But there’s an assumption that all these problems are being exaggerated. They aren’t being exaggerated. They’re really, really serious problems.
“People have got the first cheque (from the Government) to help and that’s great – I’m really happy that it’s happening. But the families we talk to say that that has gone to pay off an old debt on energy bills already. So that money gone on day one.
“I know of families who are literally disconnecting themselves from heating because, even if they don’t use that much heating, they can’t afford the standing charges.”
Ms Hines – who previously worked at organisations including The World Bank and the Department for International Development – has worked at Save the Children UK for four years, becoming its chief executive last year. And she said her trip to Tyneside has shown her the difference the charity and its local partners can make.
“Whether we’re dealing with a famine or a battlefield, or with poverty in the UK, a small amount of money – what a difference that can make.
“That’s part of the jigsaw, but we don’t stop with those projects. We also work on trying to influence policy – we can take insights from families that challenge some of the misconceptions around this issue. We’re working with parents who themselves campaign and that’s really powerful. It’s very hard to argue with mums on a mission.”#
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