New 'shocking' stats show four Greater Manchester areas are in the worst-20 places for child poverty in the UK. The M.E.N. takes a look at what steps are being taken to tackle the problem
‘Severe depression’ was the product of months of stress and sleepless nights for Molly*. The mum-of-four had been living hand-to-mouth for years after her partner had an accident at work.
Molly’s children spent years of their life in poverty. And they are far from the only kids in Greater Manchester to do so. In fact, more than a third of the city-region’s youngsters face deprivation. 37 percent of children in Greater Manchester grow up in a household which earns less than three-fifths of the average income.
Both Elizabeth and Lynne are raising their families in Manchester, the borough with the highest relative child poverty rate in the city region — the figure is 44.7 percent Of these children, seven in ten live in households where there is an adult in work. GMPA says there’s been an increase in in-work poverty lately.
“We also encourage local authorities to develop anti-poverty strategies which implement robust responses to poverty, and to use the Household Support Fund to give families money rather than in kind support such as food parcels and energy vouchers.” “In 2021/22, children living in workless households were around five times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than those where all adults work. This is why we are boosting our childcare offer to help more parents return to work and keep more of their earnings while making an unprecedented increase to the National Living Wage.”
“Central to tackling poverty are good, well paid, secure jobs that make sure residents are benefiting from the city’s growth. Some of the ways we are doing this include the push to make Manchester a Real Living Wage City, which has seen more than 160 employers sign up to pay staff £10.90 an hour, significantly higher than the national minimum wage of £9.50.
In a statement, he explained what the council is doing to tackle the problem. He said: “Rises in the prices of energy, food, housing and childcare are hitting people harder than ever and hardships caused by the pandemic are not forgotten. That’s why the Council launched our £3m We Can Help campaign which provides both financial and practical support for families grappling with the Cost of Living crisis.
Rochdale The deputy leader and cabinet member for health for Rochdale council, Coun Daalat Ali agreed with the GMPA’s assessment that the data was ‘shocking’. He also confirmed that ‘the figures in Rochdale have increased’.
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