More Than A Third Of Isle Of Wight Children Living In Poverty

Wednesday, 27 October 2021 06:00

By Oliver Dyer @olidyer

Latest figures show more than a third of children on the Isle of Wight are living in poverty.

In 2019/20 a total of 7,011 - or 32 per cent of Island children - were below the poverty line.

Although it is a slight fall compared to 2018/19 (when there were 7,215 Island children in poverty), it remains above the national average of 31 per cent.

Data, from the End Child Poverty coalition, uses Department of Work and Pensions and HMRC statistics to estimate poverty rates after housing costs.

Across the South East, only Portsmouth South (38 per cent), Portsmouth North (34 per cent), Southampton Itchen (35 per cent) and Southampton Test (35 per cent) have higher rates than the Isle of Wight.

Anna Feuchtwang, Chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition, said:

“The figures speak for themselves – the situation for children couldn’t be starker. We all want to live in a society where children are supported to be the best they can be, but the reality is very different for too many.

“The UK Government can be in no doubt about the challenge it faces if it is serious about ‘levelling up’ parts of the country hardest hit by poverty. After the year we’ve all had, they owe it to our children to come up with a plan to tackle child poverty that includes a boost to children’s benefits. And they need to scrap plans to cut Universal Credit given parents and children are having a tough enough time as it is.”

Nationally, London and Birmingham have the greatest concentrations of child poverty, with a dozen constituencies showing the majority of children living below the poverty line.

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More Than A Third Of Isle Of Wight Children Living In Poverty

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