One in three children across the North were living in poverty even before the Covid-19 pandemic, figures have revealed.
As of March 2020 there were estimated to be 1.1 million northern children living below the breadline across the North - up by around 300,000 compared to March 2015.
Meanwhile, several indicators suggest that Covid-19 has had a huge impact in the last year.
READ MORE: Three North East areas among five in England with biggest rises in Covid infections
For example, there has been a massive increase in demand for foodbanks, charity services, and government support such as Universal Credit and Free School Meals.
Vikki Waterman is a single mum-of-two, from Durham, who has been struggling financially for the last few years, despite working full-time.
Single parents like Vikki have been particularly affected, and in-work poverty is a growing problem - three in every four children in poverty now live in a working household.
In Vikki’s case, it was the high cost of childcare when returning to the workplace that threw her into debt in the first place.
She said: “It’s not that I don’t want to work, I love my job, and I think there are very few people that don’t want to earn a living for their own children.
“But especially in the beginning, I would have been significantly better off financially if I hadn’t worked.
“There were times when I thought to myself ‘is this worth the hassle?’ and almost said to work that I can’t keep putting myself through this.
“I’m glad I didn’t, but even now it’s an ongoing issue.”
She added: “It does weigh very, very heavily on me that I’m not giving them the life that I feel as if they deserve.
“Guilt is the main takeaway from it all I think. I feel very guilty, all of the time.”
Growing up in poverty is having a huge impact on children - with kids going hungry just the tip of the iceberg,
In particular, there’s a pervasive attainment gap when it comes to education, with poorer children consistently performing worse than their more affluent peers, which in turn leads to fewer opportunities later in life.
Issues such as no access to devices for remote learning, and parents who can’t offer support because they aren’t furloughed or are unable to work from home, mean many poorer children are falling even further behind during the pandemic.
Amanda Bailey, director of the North East Child Poverty Commission, said: “The costs that families face are rising, such as housing costs and childcare costs.
“That’s been combined with a decade of cuts to in-work benefits, to see this quite significant increase in child poverty rates in the years leading up to the pandemic.”
Sammy Wright, vice principal of Southmoor Academy in Sunderland and member of the Social Mobility Commission, said: “What’s going to happen in the summer is we’re going to see the gap widening.
“There’s no way that the gap won’t widen, because the way we’ve been asked to award grades is we’ve been asked to look at performance.
“And if it’s about performance, then logically, inevitably, the students who have missed the most through lockdown are going to do the worst.
“The students who have missed the most are the disadvantaged, so I cannot see how it’s going to happen any other way.”
In response to the figures, a government spokesperson said: “During the pandemic, we have supported millions of families in need with billions in additional welfare funding, including money to keep children and families well-fed, whilst also protecting jobs through the furlough scheme.
“We know that the best route out of poverty is well-paid work, which is why our multi-billion Plan for Jobs is helping people across the country back into the workplace.”
However, while charities have welcomed the support offered by the government, they are concerned that it doesn’t go far enough - pointing out that the measures are only temporary, and do not tackle the underlying causes of child poverty.
Meanwhile, as already mentioned, most children living in poverty are in working families - suggesting employment is not the answer.
Despite this, many remain hopeful that a change is coming - pointing to growing public awareness and campaigning around the issue, most notably by Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford.
Jo Kerr, director of impact and innovation at national anti-poverty charity Turn2Us, said: “I think this is a big conversation in a way that I don’t think it was a few years ago, and I know a lot of incredible, smart people who care about this stuff - including but not limited to Marcus Rashford.
“So I do have hope that while there are these conversations being had and there are initiatives going, we can make a difference, we can reverse these trends, and we can devise a system that is fair and equitable and works for everyone.”
Annie Gouk explores the issue in the latest episode of The North in Numbers - a podcast that tells the human stories behind the various statistics for the North of England.
The North in Numbers is a Laudable production. You can find it on all major podcast platforms.
