04 June 2024 , 10:11
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Almost nine in 10 children are living in poverty in some parts of the country - with the UK's worst-affected neighbourhood seeing more than 88% growing up below the breadline.
According to the latest official government figures, 2.5 million 0-15 year olds across the UK were living below the breadline in 2022/23, even before taking into account housing costs. This makes up more than 20% of all children in the country - and the number has only been rising year on year.
Latest Figures from 2022/23 are up from an already staggering 1.9 million recorded in 2014/15, representing 16% of the nation's children.
Locally, the figure ranges from just 5% of children in affluent Richmond upon Thames in London, to 43% of kids in rural Pendle, Lancashire. However, at a hyperlocal level, the rate of child poverty is even more stark in some neighbourhoods in Britain.
You can see where your area ranks by using our interactive map below.
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Ayresome in Middlesbrough has the highest rate of child poverty in England (Teessidelive)Shockingly, more than 88% of all 0-15 year olds living in Govanhill West, a neighbourhood in Glasgow, are growing up in poverty. Govanhill as a whole has long been recognised as one of Scotland's deprived communities, and nearly 1,150 of the 1,300 children in this particular neighbourhood are living below the breadline.
Meanwhile, the neighbourhood of Ayresome in Middlesbrough has the highest rate of child poverty in England, with around 84% of kids living in hardship.
In the UK, households are considered to be below the poverty line if their income is below 60% of the median household income after housing costs for that year. Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group and Vice-Chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition, said: “In a general election year, nothing should be more important to our political leaders than making things better for the country’s poorest kids.
“But child poverty has reached a record high, with millions of kids now facing cold homes and empty tummies. We know that change is possible but we need to see a commitment from all parties to scrap the two child limit and increase child benefits. Anything less would be a betrayal of Britain’s children.”