Alan Campbell MP: Urgent action needed on child poverty

The North East has an unenviable record on child poverty which a recent report by the End Child Poverty Coalition highlighted. The report relies on the Government’s own data between 2014-22 and shows 4.2 million children living in relative poverty in the UK. Worryingly this is before the cost of living crisis and soaring inflation really took hold.

Almost 190,000 children in the North East are living in poverty an increase of 51,000 since 2014-15. Of the hardest hit with the highest proportion of children in poverty, 21 of the 29 constituencies are in the North East. And of the 20 constituencies with the highest increase 6 are in our region. So much for levelling up.

The fact that neither North Tyneside constituency is in that list is cold comfort. Tynemouth constituency has almost a quarter of children growing up in poverty and that’s more than 5,300 children. Two thirds of children living in poverty are in households where at least one parent works.

The Government’s record is terrible after they followed a Labour Government which reduced child poverty by 900,000. Ironically the pandemic helped to reduce child poverty as the Government stepped in with support. Now that support has gone poverty for children and pensioners is rising again.

So what’s to be done? We need a commitment to achieve higher sustained economic growth which would mean the number of jobs, and living standards, rising in every part of the country. But we also need action on childcare, housing and getting people into work if we are to reverse this shameful trend.

Alan Campbell is Labour MP for Tynemouth