Mayor makes £50 million child poverty pledge

A major initiative to tackle child poverty across the North East has been unveiled, with measures targeting schools, employment and transport fares to provide immediate and lasting support to struggling families.

North East mayor Kim McGuinness is set to announce a £50 million programme to assist 13,500 individuals with health and disability-related barriers into sustained employment. Additionally, £1.4 million will fund school-based support, including financial advice, free after-school clubs, and cost-cutting measures for parents, alongside baby boxes for new parents.

The £1 fare for young people aged 21 and under on buses, Metro, and Ferry services will also be extended through 2025, with efforts underway to maintain it until 2028.

The announcement precedes the region’s first Child Poverty Summit at the Beacon of Light in Sunderland, where more than 300 delegates will gather to build on the work of the North East Combined Authority’s Child Poverty Reduction Unit and develop a regional strategy to address child poverty.

Mayor McGuinness said: “Today marks a major step forward in our fight against child poverty and making the North East the home of real opportunity.

“For too long, our destiny – and those of families in our region – has been set by Westminster and Whitehall making decisions on our behalf, and the abject failure of markets to bring opportunity, jobs and investment we know people need.  

“The North East has had the unwelcome tag of the highest child poverty rates for the past 25 years. Now we say: enough is enough. We’re making progress to help families and young people in the here and now and putting in the foundations to help the next generation of families - the infrastructure of opportunity.  

“Our measures will help people find work, cut the cost of travel and ensure children have the very best start in life.” 

This multi-million-pound initiative highlights a collaborative approach, inviting input from businesses, voluntary groups and public organisations to create meaningful change for families in need.

Councillor Tracey Dixon, leader of South Tyneside Council and cabinet member for education, inclusion and skills at the North East Combined Authority, added: “There are staggering levels of child poverty within our region, and it is impossible not to feel emotional when you hear the conditions that many of our families are living in. 

“While there is a huge amount of work going on to alleviate poverty across the North East, instead of dealing with the effects of poverty, we need to stop people being in poverty in the first place. 

“The measures outlined by Mayor McGuinness today are just the start, most of the levers to action real change are still in the control of central government and we will continue to fight for our region. Together, we can address child poverty, we need change and quickly.

“It feels like a moment we need to harness, we have a government task force, a regional Child Poverty Reduction Unit and Child Poverty strategies in progress locally, regionally, and nationally.

“The time is now for everyone to make a difference, to have the bravery and courage to tackle child poverty so that we can break the cycle and improve outcomes for our young people.” 

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