Over a third of children live in poverty in Rochdale borough

End Child Poverty

Over a third of children live in poverty in Rochdale borough, according to new figures published by the End Child Poverty coalition.

The data shows that Rochdale comes 26th of all the UK local authorities.

In the borough, 35.74% of children (18,921) are classed as living in poverty: 9.25% of the 204,621 children living in such conditions across the whole of Greater Manchester.

In the Rochdale constituency, an alarming 41% of children live in poverty, a figure of 11,929. Of the whole borough, the highest levels of children in poverty recorded were here, with more than half of children experiencing poverty recorded in two wards.

The ward with the highest number of children in poverty was the Central with 53.68% (1,801 children). This was closely followed by Milkstone and Deeplish at 53.3% (1,956 children), ranking 34th and 38th, respectively for child poverty in the country.

By comparison, 28.6% of children (6,812) live in poverty in Heywood and Middleton. Here, the highest levels were 39.36% of children in West Middleton (1,232), and 30.52% in West Heywood (822).

Just 12.88% of Norden children (267) live in poverty, the lowest in the Rochdale borough. Rounding off the three areas with the least number of children living in poverty were Milnrow and Newhey ((15.85% or 326 children), and Wardle and West Littleborough (18.13% or 444 children).

Households are living in poverty if their household income (adjusted to account for household size,) is less than 60% of the average.

Andrew Wastling, a local supporter of End Child Poverty, said: “The detrimental impact of growing up in poverty on a child’s educational attainment, their health outcomes and future employment is well documented.

“The cap on children’s benefits that has been implemented by the Government is having a devastating impact on child poverty across the country. Families struggle to make ends meet as prices, especially rents, continue to rise.

“In two areas of Rochdale, child poverty is now over 50%. That means we live in a country where some children are more likely to grow up in poverty than not. Children are growing up in homes where they go without meals, appropriate clothing or heating.”

He added: “The failure of this Government to prioritise and invest in the future of the next generation is scandalous: it is time the cap on children’s benefits was ended. Concerned readers of Rochdale Online can ask their MP to act at:”

https://cpag.e-activist.com/page/18659/action/1

Since the introduction of the benefit freeze, the End Child Poverty coalition has warned that as prices rise, low income families would find it increasingly hard to pay for the same basic essentials, and is concerned that the impact of poverty may be exacerbated by a poverty premium.

This means low income families can face paying as much as £1,700 per year more than better off families, to buy the same essential goods and services.

Tony Lloyd, MP for Rochdale, said: “It is scandalous there are parts of Rochdale where a child is more likely to grow up below the breadline than above it. No parent should be choosing between putting food on the table, heating their homes or clothing their children.

"The government’s freeze on children’s benefits in the face of rising inflation forces parents to turn to rent-to-own companies and high-cost credit just to make ends meet. The government must urgently focus their attention on reconsidering these cruel policies, uprate benefits in line with inflation, and allow people to live a little more comfortably. No child needs to grow up under such stress.”

Liz McInnes, MP for Heywood and Middleton, said: “It is utterly shameful in this day and age, with all the wealth we generate as a nation, that children are being born into poverty.

"There is no question whatsoever that the policies of this Tory government are contributing to rising poverty and declining living standards in Rochdale borough and across the country.

“For far too many people everyday life is a constant struggle and I receive constant pleas for help from families who are being pushed to the absolute limit through no fault of their own. Many of these families are in work, but thanks to below-inflation wage increases and the rising cost of living they are finding less and less money in their pockets.

“I fully support the End Child Poverty coalition in their work, and myself and Tony Lloyd MP will continue to fight the causes of poverty and offer support to those affected.”

The research was carried out on behalf of End Child Poverty by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University, led by Professor Donald Hirsch.