North East charity leader urges action on child poverty amid 'depressing' picture for region

A charity leader has urged local and national politicians to reduce levels of poverty in the North East after warning that widespread hardship is putting huge strains on the voluntary sector.

Rob Williamson, CEO of the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, said that many charities were seeing rising demand from people struggling due to the cost-of-living crisis at the same time as they were themselves facing increasing costs. He welcomed commitments from North East mayor Kim McGuinness and the new Labour Government to reduce poverty levels but urged authorities to find “solutions”.

Mr Williamson was speaking as the Community Foundation launched its latest Vital Signs report into issues affecting the region, including the economy, education, the environment and housing. In what he admitted was a frequently “depressing” picture, huge challenges facing the North East in many of those areas were outlined.

Read more: Journal and ChronicleLive challenge Government to reduce child poverty

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But turning to living standards, Mr Williamson said that little had changed since a similar report two years ago, with the North East having a child poverty rate of more than 25% in almost all areas, while one in 20 people said they had used a foodbank or asked a charity for help because of increased cost-of-living pressures.

He said: “Our living standards report flows on from our 2022 report on the cost-of-living crisis and I’m afraid our conclusions are pretty similar to what they were in 2022. Because although inflation is down to 2%, prices haven’t stopped rising; they’re just going up more slowly and the pressure is worse on essentials like food and energy.

“In the North East we face relatively high rates of poverty, especially child poverty. That’s of course linked to low pay, higher rates of economic inactivity, benefit dependence and levels of household debt.

“We know that there’s a growing demand on charities, schools and other institutions to meet more of people’s basic needs. The concern that we have is that even more people who are just getting by right now and going to start needing help as they fall into difficulties because of the continuing cost-of-living pressures.

Hear more about the Vital Signs report and the picture they paint of the North East on The Northern Agenda podcast below - or click here.

“I am encouraged that we have a very strong commitment from the mayor and the North East Combined Authority to tackle poverty. We also have strong voices coming from the region’s media and from business bodies like the Chamber of Commerce and recognising the problem is the first step in addressing it.

“At national Government - and there are all sorts of campaigns around what the policy of national Government might be - there has been an announcement about a taskforce on child poverty. So there are positive signs at least that this issue is going to be talked about and some policy solutions found.”

Earlier this week, the Government announced a new ministerial taskforce to begin work on its Child Poverty Strategy but that announcement has not stopped pressure from MPs and pressure groups to scrap the two-child benefit limit that pushes thousands of families into poverty.

A parliamentary motion to push the Government into removing the gap has been proposed, among others, by North East MPs Emma Lewell-Buck, Mary Foy and Ian Lavery, and signed as well by fellow Labour members Kate Osborne and Grahame Morris.

Elsewhere, figures released by the Office for National Statistics showed that the North East’s unemployment rate had risen sharply to 4.8% in the three months to the end of May. The region’s rate of economic inactivity also rose to stand at 27.5%, with 456,000 people either not seeking work or unable to start work due to ill health, early retirement or other factors.

Callum George, policy adviser at the North East Chamber of Commerce, said: “The ONS employment figures released today suggest an alarming increase in unemployment, which is cause for concern. Once again, these figures suggest that inequality between the North East and the rest of the country is growing when it comes to employment, as we remain the region with the lowest employment rate, and highest levels of economic inactivity in England.”