Housing costs leave quarter of Barnet and Camden children living in poverty

A new report published by the End Child Poverty campaign has revealed the stark levels of inequality and child poverty in Barnet and Camden.

 

16.9% of children in Barnet already live in poverty, before housing costs are factored in. When included, the figure jumps to 26.6%. Colindale has the worst rate, with 40.5% of children living in poverty when housing costs factored in, whereas in Hampstead Garden Suburb the figure is 15.4%.

 

22.2% of children in Camden live in poverty before housing costs are factored in, but 35.2% do when it is. King’s Cross has the worst rate, with 46.6%, whereas in Hampstead Town the figure is 14%.

Nationally, child poverty is highest in large cities, particularly London, Birmingham and Manchester. Among the 20 parliamentary constituencies with the highest levels of child poverty, seven are located in London. Among the 20 local authorities with the highest levels of child poverty, 11 are in London. Of the 10 London Local Authorities with the highest levels of child poverty, eight are in Inner London.

 

Andrew Dismore, London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden said the figures were shocking, and show the extent to which the housing crisis affects Children.

 

He said:

 

We all know the cost of housing in London is prohibitively expensive. But this report lays bare the impact it is having on children. Poverty has a severely detrimental impact on life chances, income, happiness and quality of life. What these figures say is that the cost of having a roof over your head makes over a quarter of our children have worse life outcomes.

 

‘We can now see that the impact of Conservative  austerity through the introduction of universal credit and the benefits cap is punishing the poorest children in our community. Cuts to local government and the school funding settlement, which is likely to cut funding for schools in London severely, is giving children the worst possible start in life. The impact of this will be felt through their whole lives.’

 

 

ENDS

 

  • Andrew Dismore AM is the London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden.

 

 

 

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