Mayor unveils £28.6 million fight on child poverty

A regeneration boss is delivering a major new investment package to tackle rising child poverty and create long-term opportunity for families.

North East mayor Kim McGuinness has unveiled a £28.6 million Child Poverty Action Plan to be approved by the North East Combined Authority today (July 22). 

Described by officials as the most comprehensive regional response of its kind in England, the plan sets out a coordinated programme of support for low-income families, focused on health, housing, transport and youth employment.

Among the new measures are a health in pregnancy grant for expectant mothers on Universal Credit, an expansion of baby boxes with essential supplies for first-time parents, and a raft of new pre-apprenticeship opportunities and youth activities to help young people into work.

With one in three children in the region – about 120,000 in total – currently growing up in poverty, the mayor has called for a unified and urgent response to break the “unacceptable” child poverty levels and build an “infrastructure of opportunity”.

Mayor McGuinness said: “Tackling child poverty is my number one priority as mayor, and today we will agree the biggest action plan of interventions in England as we take-on that challenge.

“We have unacceptable child poverty levels in our region and I can’t stand by and watch a generation be held back by hardship.

“Today we will go much further, leading the way in England with £28.6 million of new projects that will be felt by our children and their parents even before they are born.

“We cannot start early enough to make a difference for our children, which is why we’ll be supporting pregnant mams with a new grant, delivering hundreds more baby boxes and making sure young people have a place to go with year-round free and low-cost activity programmes to inspire and prepare them for skilled apprenticeships and work.”

The investment will also extend subsidised travel, including free public transport for care leavers up to age 25 and a £1 fare cap for under-21s.

Alongside these interventions, the mayor has pledged to work with housing providers and schools to tackle hidden poverty by ensuring every child has a bed and a school uniform, as well as set up a new North East Warm Homes Taskforce to make rented homes warmer and cheaper to heat.

Beth Farhat, chair of the North East Child Poverty Commission, added: “Child poverty is not only damaging the development and future prospects of tens of thousands of children, it is holding the whole of the North East back.

“It is so important that this has been grasped by mayor Kim McGuinness with an action plan that not only recognises the importance of collectively investing more in babies, children and young people, but sets out why this matters to the whole region.”

The action plan follows extensive consultation and the region’s first Child Poverty Summit, coming ahead of the UK Government’s expected strategy on child poverty due this autumn.

Bridget Phillipson, the secretary of state for education and MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, added: “Tackling child poverty is absolutely crucial if we are to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child across every part of our country.

“This task cannot be achieved by national Government alone, and I am proud to see the North East leading the way on addressing this issue at a regional level – driven forward by mayor Kim McGuinness and her determination to both invest in children and families, and to bring together cross-sector partners in what has to be a collective endeavour.

“Doing this in a way that aligns and will add value to our work at a national level puts the North East Combined Authority area in a great position, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with Kim and regional partners on this issue.”

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