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Child poverty figures are 'profoundly disturbing'

By Amy Taylor
March 04, 2013

POVERTY levels among children are ‘profoundly disturbing’, as the gap between the rich and poor grows in villages in Hampshire and Surrey.

Figures released by the End Child Poverty campaign highlight wildly varying levels of deprivation around the UK last year, including the so-called wealthy areas of the south east.

At least 10% of children are living under the breadline in each local authority in the News & Mail area, with figures ranging from 10% – 2,627 children – in Waverley borough to 16% in Rushmoor, equivalent to 3,359 children.

The worst levels of child poverty were in Tower Hamlets, which has 42%, equivalent to 23,837 children. One of the lowest levels was in Richmond where only 2,686 children, or 7%, were in poverty.

In the News & Mail area the picture is more bleak, with some wards facing nearly 30% poverty, a figure many councillors are blaming on increasing financial pressures on low-income families.

A family’s income needs to be less than 60% of the average UK earnings, which varies according to inflation, to be considered ‘under the breadline’ and classed as living in poverty.

In Surrey Heath, despite a comparatively low child poverty rate of 11% overall, which takes into account Camberley, Frimley and St Paul’s wards, a figure of 28% has been recorded for the ward of Old Dean.

In Rushmoor, Cherrywood (formerly Mayfield) ward in Farnborough has 27% child poverty, while North Town in Aldershot follows closely with 19%.

In Hart, Frogmore and Darby Green ward – as well as Yateley East – have a higher than average rate, as does Ash Wharf ward in Guildford, which has 23% poverty compared to a local average of 13%.

Rodney Harward, councillor for Frogmore and Darby Green, said the 2012 figures could not purely be blamed on austerity measures, but added: “I’ve never seen any country get out of recession by making the poor poorer.

“We are told repeatedly that we are one of the most affluent areas in the country and yet Hart has just opened its third foodbank. It’s the injustice that annoys me.”

He said the increasing levels of child poverty in Hart were ‘profoundly disturbing’, and that the fact that ‘our most disadvantaged’ still relied on a foodbank to survive was something ‘we should be ashamed of’.

“We need to break the cycle,” he added. “We should be teaching general housekeeping and financial bookkeeping and a more interesting form of domestic science so that families know how to feed themselves.

“By cutting benefits and increasing tax we are just punishing the children, and we are not giving them the best start in life.”

Old Dean councillor Rodney Bates is leader of the opposition at Surrey Heath Borough Council, which has just approved a council tax benefit scheme. It will see claimants who previously paid no contribution, charged £380 a year from April 1.

He said: “We are imposing this very punitive measure which is not going to address issues of child poverty.

“The first thing to do is for councils to really prioritise where areas of need are, particularly things like working with churches and children’s centres to make sure we are understanding the issues people are faced with.

“Quite often families have a negative experience of agencies, and instead they trust their GP or the vicar. We can control what we spend as a local council and as local services, and the focus really needs to be on that group of people.

“We talk around the subject, but I’m not sure we do as much as we could.”

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Most recent user comments 11 of 11

Caught fibbing again...

"Cameron rebuked over austerity claims"

"David Cameron has been corrected by the Treasury’s own forecaster over claims that cuts in public spending are not reducing economic growth."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9918107/Cameron-rebuked-over-austerity-claims.html

unhappy (now disgusted)
08/03/2013 at 20:06

I know that losing your job is downer, you think what the **** why me. You go and sign on and find that the job centre is useless only good for doom and gloom, the only answer is treating finding a job as your job, write your CV then e-mail it to every agency and company that is relevent. then get the local yellow pages draw up a list of every local company where you stand a chance of getting a job and start knocking doors if someone is looking to hire they will see you. You will do a lot of walking and get rejection but you are not sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself. Tell people what you are doing if they think that you are activly looking for work they will tell you if they know of anything, I have been there done it and it worked for me happy hunting.

peter hensman
08/03/2013 at 10:10

@SpongeBob NoPants, Farnborough: "Don't get me started on the bedroom tax !!!!"

Oh why not? It's good fun ;-)

"Just think about this..."

Politicians don't do thinking!

Politicians don't do common sense!

But I do.... So, just think about this....

You've left Uni and are ready to start your adult life. You save up to get onto the housing/property ladder. You buy a two bed or even a three bedroom place in anticipation of starting a family and/or a spare room for guests.

Then a few years later you're on the dole with a massive student debt and a two bedroom flat mortgage debt.

Straight away you are in IDS's DWP Sh it created by his pal Lord David Fraud, Minister for Tory Benefit CU*TS.

You get FULL DWP mortgage interest support (MIS) BUT you pay the 10% towards your Council Tax and repairs, Building Insurance, etc from your £71/week.

Two years later you are still UNEMPLOYED and you've managed to hold onto the flat BUT DWP JCP tell you they are ending your mortgage interest support as it is limited to TWO years!!

What now????

Down the Tory snake you go!

unhappy (now disgusted)
08/03/2013 at 03:35

Don't get me started on the bedroom tax !!!! Just think about this.... You have an 18 year old going off to university, spending 3 years building up a lifelong debt to the country, while his parents either move to a smaller home meaning the sofa during the holidays and effective homelessness upon completion of the degree,or they spend 3 years of capped benefit to keep the bedroom available. The ridiculous list of requirements, like under 10's two to a room , under 16's , same sex two to a room etc fail to take into account any unusual needs or care arrangements. If I'd had to share with my brother in our teens I would never had slept a wink while he was flicking the pages of the lord of rings trilogy ( or at least that's what he said he was doing) to be followed by loud snoring and a goblin teasmade going off at 6 am

SpongeBob NoPants, Farnborough
07/03/2013 at 13:49

@peter hensman

The OPERATIVE word is "rise"!

"There are many areas where the welfare state is being abused and savings can be made, again it is implimentation where they go wrong. Any party needs to remember you do not crush the flowers when trying to get to the weeds."

Oh, then there would be no need for CUTS. Ooops! Sorry is it 'savings'?

Take for example, the 8% Council Tax Charge and the bedroom tax.

There would be NO need for any of that if the Councils and/or Government took Housing Associations to task on their exorbitant Service Charges, like taking them to Service Charge Tribunals.

The Housing Benefit costs the DWP £23 Billion/year. Most of that goes to Housing Associations.

So why are Mr Dave Quirk, Director of Community and Environment (responsible for most of our direct services, including planning, building control, environmental health, HOUSING, ....) and his Ms Gamer Yasin, Head of Environmental Health and Housing are NOT taking action when Housing Associations like TV have a 56% DISSATISFACTION?

http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/article/1711/Environmental-Health-and-Housing

Negligence/incompetence???? - BOTH grounds for dismissal!

unhappy (now disgusted)
07/03/2013 at 11:14

@ unhappy. The rise of Food Banks and soup kitchens since the current Tory Government took office is CLEAR DIRECT evidence of it.

The church on the Prospect Estate had an emergency larder during the labour government as have the church of the Good Shepherd they also run a long standing childrens clothing exchange. Many churches throughout the uk have been running these scheems for many years. So you cannot blame the tory party alone for the need of these services. Please those of you who have pleanty please buy a little extra when doing your shopping to donate to your local food bank.

A Party that calls Welfare CUTS savings!!!

I do not have a problem with some of their proposals but I do have a problem with there implementation, for example the so called bedroom tax. It is wrong to implement it when there is no decent housing stock for them to down size into. You cannot expect people to leave their nice homes to live in places like Totland Close and Denmark Square (I know good people who live in both these places the bad are in the minority). There are many areas where the welfare state is being abused and savings can be made, again it is implimentation where they go wrong. Any party needs to remember you do not crush the flowers when trying to get to the weeds.

peter hensman
07/03/2013 at 09:37

I find it amazing that Conservative voters are ready to support charities yet their Tory Party's policies are what creates the need for the charities.

The existence of charities is evidence of the failure of Government to do its job.

The rise of Food Banks and soup kitchens since the current Tory Government took office is CLEAR DIRECT evidence of it.

So if you want to support charities STOP VOTING Tory!

A Party that calls Welfare CUTS savings!!!

17 April 2012

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2131010/Staggering-rise-British-food-bank-One-opens-week-families-pay-packet-away-having-money.html

"Staggering rise of the British food bank: One opens every week after rise in families unable to afford to eat"

"One in five Britons are borrowing money for groceries because of the soaring cost of living"

unhappy (now disgusted)
07/03/2013 at 00:57

@tinks 41 I am one of the lucky ones I am not on benefits. I know where you are coming, I live on the Prospect Estate and yes their is a very small number of bone idle scroungers that will never do a days work. BUT the great majority are honest hard working people some of whom are unemployed through no fault of their own due to the recession and yes they do have nice cars, flat screen tv's and pc's but these were purchased when times were good

peter hensman
05/03/2013 at 11:50

well Peter you are obviously one of the better ones but I know of people that do not buy second hand and have all of the latest stuff, and libraries have computer equipment these days for people to use. and poverty line means that you can have food, clothing a roof over your head and heating with no extra for playstations xbox etc. when you live near people who don't work and have brand new cars, holidays etc that is not poverty line. The system in this country does need a shake up, so what is the reason that kids need mobile phones then ?

tinks 41
05/03/2013 at 08:13

@ tinks Thankfully there are people who will pass on their games consuls and pc's to others less fortunate when they upgrade. It is worth remembering that in this day and age the internet is a learning tool where schools set home work on their web sites for pupils to download, a great deal of the research they need to do has to be done on the internet to ensure they have the latest data, ( library books can be out of date) Through savings on purchases on the internet I cover the cost of my internet conection and the cost of my pc hardware. On leaving school students will be expected to down load their cv's when applying for jobs, search engines are are also a very good way of finding employment

peter hensman
04/03/2013 at 12:40

when you say on the breadline or in poverty I think parents should teach their children that they can't have the latest games consul, internet, computers etc as most people living off of the government have all of these.