Child poverty shock in new figures

ALMOST a third of children in the west of Droitwich are in low-income families which are either below or close to the poverty line, shocking national figures show.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty has produced maps for every constituency in England showing the number of children living in families struggling to live on 60 per cent or less of the average household income.

This is equivalent to about £119 a week for a single person with no children and £288 a week for a couple with two children under 14, once income tax, council tax and rent or mortgage payments have been deducted.

The report found 31 per cent or 455 children in Droitwich West, an area which includes the Westlands and Berry Hill estates, are living in families close to or below the poverty line.

And the percentage is almost two and a half times the Wychavon District average of 12 per cent and well above the national average.

Droitwich West also has the highest level of child poverty in Wychavon and there is a similarly bleak picture in other Droitwich areas, with 19 per cent of children living in or around the town centre below or close to the poverty line and a further 14 per cent doing so in the east of the town.

Only Droitwich South West and Droitwich South East fall below the district average, with just four per cent and 11 per cent of children in families below or close to the measure.

Overall, according to the report, there are 848 children living either below or near to the poverty line in Droitwich and the charity has warned Government cuts which target families could prove to be an economic and a social disaster.

Alison Garnham, executive director of the campaign, said: “Child poverty costs us billions picking up the pieces of

damaged lives and unrealised potential, so it’s a false economy if we don’t prioritise looking after children today.”

“The Government urgently needs a serious plan to stop the rise in unemployment and to create jobs so that young people and parents can get out of the dole queue and into the workplace.

“We need a plan to target investment through the family purse to stimulate the economy, so shops, services and businesses get the customers they need to stay afloat and recruit staff,” she added.

And the stark warning was echoed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies which said child poverty would rise by 400,000 children by 2015 unless the Government took a more progressive approach to tackling the country’s debt.