streetseen
03-13-2005, 11:10 AM
Almost one in three children in the north-west of England is living in poverty, according to figures recently released.
The latest statistics from the End Child Poverty coalition show that 450,000 of 1.5 million children in the region are living below the breadline.
Research for the coalition, which brings together more than 75 organisations such as Barnardo's, the Children's Society and the Royal College of Nurses, found that in 215 wards at least 30% of children were living on benefits.
Of these poorest wards, 75 were in Greater Manchester, 66 in Merseyside, 46 in Lancashire, 15 in Cumbria and 13 in Cheshire. Among the worst-affected areas were Blackfriars in Salford, where 60.8% of children live on benefits, Hulme in Manchester, where the figure is 68.5%, Princess in Knowsley (69%) and Granby in Liverpool (71.9%).
The coalition says that overall, 3.6 million children (28% of the UK child population) are living in poverty. The proportion of children living below the breadline rose from one in 10 in 1979 to one in three in 1998.
The UK has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the industrialised world; a third of poor children do not eat three meals a day.
The effect of poverty reduces life expectancy. A boy living in Manchester can expect to live seven years less than a boy in Barnet. A girl from Manchester can expect to live six years less than a girl in Kensington and Chelsea.
Jonathan Stearn, the director of End Child Poverty, said: "The fact that 450,000 children in the north-west are living in poverty - the highest number in any part of England outside London - is a blight on the region.
The latest statistics from the End Child Poverty coalition show that 450,000 of 1.5 million children in the region are living below the breadline.
Research for the coalition, which brings together more than 75 organisations such as Barnardo's, the Children's Society and the Royal College of Nurses, found that in 215 wards at least 30% of children were living on benefits.
Of these poorest wards, 75 were in Greater Manchester, 66 in Merseyside, 46 in Lancashire, 15 in Cumbria and 13 in Cheshire. Among the worst-affected areas were Blackfriars in Salford, where 60.8% of children live on benefits, Hulme in Manchester, where the figure is 68.5%, Princess in Knowsley (69%) and Granby in Liverpool (71.9%).
The coalition says that overall, 3.6 million children (28% of the UK child population) are living in poverty. The proportion of children living below the breadline rose from one in 10 in 1979 to one in three in 1998.
The UK has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the industrialised world; a third of poor children do not eat three meals a day.
The effect of poverty reduces life expectancy. A boy living in Manchester can expect to live seven years less than a boy in Barnet. A girl from Manchester can expect to live six years less than a girl in Kensington and Chelsea.
Jonathan Stearn, the director of End Child Poverty, said: "The fact that 450,000 children in the north-west are living in poverty - the highest number in any part of England outside London - is a blight on the region.