Child poverty figures reveal extend of issue in North East

Five thousand more children in the region are in relative poverty here than a year ago, with 31 per cent of all babies, children and young people in the region growing up in deprivation.

Save the Children said the stats are “a source of national shame” after the number of under 18s in poverty nationwide hit a record high of almost 4.5 million.

It comes a day after Chancellor Rachel Reeves was accused of balancing the books on the backs of the least well-off via welfare cuts which the Government’s own estimates say could plunge another 250,000 people, including 50,000 kids, into poverty by the end of the decade.

Last June she pledged to readers of The Northern Echo that reducing child poverty is “in Labour’s DNA” and “will be central to the next Labour Government”, as she backed our election manifesto calling for a commitment on lifting youngsters here out of deprivation.

Campaigners and politicians said the figures are an “utter scandal”, questioning this week’s welfare cuts and repeating calls to end the two-child benefit cap.

North East Child Poverty Commission Chair Beth Farhat, said: “The figures are not just unacceptably high, they are also heading in the wrong direction. Every single one of these numbers is an individual child who is having their life chances limited and opportunities restricted as result of not having what they need to thrive.

“Nobody gets a second childhood, and the babies, children and young people growing up in hardship across the North East today cannot wait much longer for meaningful national action on this issue.

“The Government’s own impact assessment shows that 50,000 more children across the country will be pulled into poverty as a direct result of the cuts to support confirmed this week.

“We know that a disproportionate number of those children will be growing up here in the North East, where higher rates of disability and ill health are inextricably linked to our higher rates of child poverty.

“Today’s new data make clear why it’s increasingly urgent that they now get on with publishing and delivering it their long-awaited national child poverty strategy.

“That has to include scrapping policies like the two-child limit – the only outcome of which has been to drive up child poverty both here in our region and across the country.”

The stats show 170,256 youngsters were in poverty here in the three years to 2023/24, up from 164,973 in the 36 months to 2022/23 – a 3.2 per cent increase.

Ms Reeves insisted today (March 27) her welfare reforms will not push people into poverty, appearing to reject official warnings about their impact. She told Sky News: “I am absolutely certain that our reforms, instead of pushing people into poverty, are going to get people into work.”

Rachel Reeves delivering her spring statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday (March 26). (Image: HOUSE OF COMMONS/PA WIRE) But the Chancellor is facing a rebellion within her party as MPs including Middlesbrough & Thornaby East’s Andy McDonald and South Shields’ Emma Lewell-Buck said the plans are “unconscionable”.

250 000 plunged into poverty
50 000 of them children

This is unconscionable. My constituents know I have always fought poverty. I will not stop now. pic.twitter.com/Ec6GLPuk9x

— Emma Lewell MP (@EmmaLewellBuck) March 27, 2025

Mr McDonald described the figures as “utterly heartbreaking”, adding: “Such high levels of child poverty in a nation as rich as ours is an utter scandal and it’s vital that we do all we can to drive these figures down as low humanly possible”

He added: “No-one can be in any doubt the scale of the problem this Government has inherited following 14 years of Conservative rule in our country.

“The Northern Echo’s Manifesto for change rightly highlighted the need to tackle this issue head on given our region suffers from some of the highest figures of child poverty, including my own constituency where the numbers are far, far too high – one child in poverty is too many.”

Andy McDonald, MP for Middlesbrough & Thornaby East. “It is right that the Labour government has established a Child Poverty Taskforce. But I am greatly concerned the government’s recently announced green paper on welfare reform will, by the Government’s own estimates, see an additional 50,000 children living in relative poverty by 2030. That is simply unconscionable, and I have already said that I cannot support these proposals as they stand.”

He joined North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, widely seen as an ally to the Chancellor, in renewing calls to end the two-child benefit cap.

The Mayor said: “If Ministers are serious about tackling poverty we need national intervention including an end to the two child limit in Universal Credit they inherited from the last government. This would be transformational for thousands of families in our region and beyond.

“These alarming figures show it is more important than ever we are focussed on tackling child poverty. Poverty ruins lives, prevents young people fulfilling their potential and damages our economy. In the North East we have already set up the first Child Poverty Reduction Unit in the country so we can support the most vulnerable families in our region.”

Kim McGuinness, Labour Mayor for the North East. (Image: Northern Echo) Lola McEvoy, Labour MP for Darlington, said: “These figures clearly show the Conservatives’ shocking neglect of the North East. It’s a shameful indictment of their promises of ‘levelling up’.

“Addressing child poverty is a priority for this Government, which is why I was so proud to vote in favour of free breakfast clubs in all primary schools. Furthermore, the upcoming child poverty strategy will outline plans to ensure no child is left behind any longer.

“Generating growth and more high-quality work in our area is the key to creating a better quality of life for all, but it won’t happen overnight. Labour is already supporting record investment in the North-East, creating thousands of high-skilled jobs and there’s more to come.”

Lola McEvoy, MP for Darlington. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

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A DWP spokesperson said: “No one should be living in poverty, and we know that the best route out of poverty for struggling families is well paid, secure work.

“That is why we are reforming our broken welfare system so it helps people into good jobs, boosting living standards and putting money in people’s pockets.

“Alongside this, our Child Poverty Taskforce is building an ambitious strategy to give all children the best start in life while we increase the Living Wage, uprate benefits, and support 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions to help low-income households.”