The Mayor of the North East has established her plans to tackle the ‘unacceptable’ child poverty in the region.
With a plan that is thought to be the first of its kind by a mayor in England, Kim McGuinness has committed to supporting parents with the costs of childcare, with this helping parents return to work and keep more of the money that they earn.
North East Combined Authority has outlined how almost a third of the children in the region are living in poverty, with round 118,000 living in the combined authority’s area, and this proposal comes as part of the mayor’s election pledge to reduce child poverty. As working parents face average part-time nursey costs for a child under two of around £148 per week, and bills of around £175 per week in the school holidays, the mayor has confirmed her intention to set up a Child Poverty Reduction Unit.
This unit will work on developing and rolling out a region-wide strategy to tackling the issue.
Speaking about the measures, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said:
“I want to make the North East the home of real opportunity, however too many children see their potential and life chances stifled by growing up in poverty. That’s simply unacceptable and not something we should not tolerate as a region.
“This is personal for me: I've seen first hand how low pay, insecure work and an inadequate and uncaring benefits system can trap families. It’s a situation that’s all too familiar for families across our region and has worsened over the last 14 years.
“Tackling poverty is a huge challenge, however I’m determined to bring everyone in our region together to turn this around, working with our charities, local authorities, community groups, businesses and the Government to ensure no one is held back by poverty.
“By tackling poverty in the North East, we can ensure everyone benefits from devolution and the investment we’re seeing in the region – creating prosperity and opportunity for all.”
Around £500,000 of investment is being committed to the Child Poverty Reduction Unit, with the first priority being the development of the Childcare Grant. These plans will be considered by the combined authority cabinet in September, and the grant will add to existing support from local and central government so that residents that are returning or moving into the workplace can have their financial pressures removed.
The combined authority will also work in collaboration with the seven local authorities in the region – as well as the wider childcare system – to establish the most effective means of tackling poverty among children.
Image credit: iStock
