Child poverty levels still being tackled in West Berkshire
Figures by End Child Poverty group show picture for West Berkshire is better than national average
THE number of children living in poverty in West Berkshire is below the national average, according to new figures released by campaign group, End Child Poverty, but the district council's executive member for young people says more can be done to reduce this number further.
Between 1998 and 2010, the number of children in poverty in the UK was reduced by 900,000, but in some areas, such as Bethnal Green and Bow in London, 51 per cent of children are still living in poverty.
Recent figures provided by End Child Poverty for mid 2011 show that, on average, one in five (20.9 per cent) children are classified as below the poverty line (before housing costs) in the UK.
However, in West Berkshire the figure is 10 per cent, a slight decrease from 2008 when the amount was 10.3 per cent.
In Wiltshire the figure is also ten per cent, in Basingstoke and Deane it is 11 per cent, with 20 per cent in Reading and 22 per cent in Oxford.
In Newbury the percentage is the same as the district as a whole, 10 per cent, with 13 per cent recorded in Basingstoke, 18 per cent in Reading West and nine per cent in Oxford West and Abingdon.
End Child Poverty estimates child poverty costs the UK economy around £25 billion a year. To combat this, the Government wants to reduce child poverty to its lowest percentage in forty years by 2020.
West Berkshire's executive member for children and young people, Irene Neill (Con, Aldermaston) said: “We know that to break patterns of persistent poverty in families and to stop families entering poverty we need to improve life chances for all our children, and help families into work that pays. Our anti-child poverty strategy sets our priorities for helping this to be achieved.
“Some of the ways we will do this are to target many of our supportive services on vulnerable people, including those experiencing economic hardship; to improve opportunities for people to take advantage of education opportunities; to support training and employment; and to be proactive in helping counter the effects of the recession.
“Across parts of the district child poverty varies considerably so we are paying special attention to areas where child poverty is the highest. This includes working with voluntary sector and community organisations in areas such as Greenham, and we have been working with the Clay Hill Residents Association to develop community activities through the Riverside Community Centre.”
For more details on the council's approach to tackling child poverty, contact the council on (01635) 42400.