Poverty campaingers warn 'it's time to act as rising numbers of families are suffering'
There's calls for a changes by the End Child Poverty Coalition after what they claim has been a lack of progress on the issue
Almost one in three children across the South West still lives in poverty, according to new figures from the End Child Poverty Coalition.
It's calling for more help for families in next week's Government spending review.
Jo, a single mum in North Devon whose son is disabled and who is struggling to make ends meet, said: "Before I had my son I worked full time, but it's just not been possible with the care he needs.
"Now I'm on my own it's even harder. I can’t afford any lack in concentration when it comes to money. I often have to pick and choose which bills to pay each month and sometimes I do go without food. Pretty much all my money is gone or accounted for the day it comes into my bank.
“I would like to go back to work, and I'm really hoping once he starts school in September, I'll be able to find something flexible enough. But it's not just working around school hours. With my son's additional needs comes challenging behaviour and if there are any problems at school, I'll have to leave work to pick him up. I'm solely responsible for him and for keeping everything going at home."
The End Child Poverty Coalition, representing over 135 organisations across the UK including Action for Children, is calling on the government to meet its manifesto commitment to address these high levels of child poverty in the South West and across the rest of country. Most of the constituencies in this region with the highest rates of child poverty are held by Labour MPs.
Although the South West fares better than some regions (UK average of 31%), this new data also shows that in almost two thirds of constituencies (64%) in the region, at least 1 in 4 children lives in poverty. This could mean families using food banks to feed their children, children going without warm clothes in winter, or living in cold or unsafe housing.
In the constituency with the highest level of poverty in the region, Bristol East, more than a third of children are growing up in poverty (35%). That’s equivalent to around 10 children in a class of 30. It is more than double the constituency with the lowest child poverty rates in the South West, North Somerset, at 16%, or nearly five children in a class of 30.
The report also finds that there is an “extremely high” correlation between the percentage of children impacted by the two-child limit policy, and the percentage of children living in poverty in South West constituencies.
Robert Wyatt, Action for Children’s operational director in the South West, said: “No child in the South West should have to experience poverty. These figures should demonstrate to government just how important it is to quickly address this to prevent another generation of children from growing up in low-income families.
“One in four children in the South West live in homes where daily essentials are a struggle – it’s a national scandal, and we see the impact on children and families in our frontline services every day.
“As a first step the government must scrap the two-child limit to benefit payments, a policy which continues to pull children into poverty every day.”
We have contacted the Government to ask what help is being planned - which we'll bring you as we get it