Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated his commitment to tackling child poverty in the North East of England, emphasizing its significance in the region. In his recent state of the union address Hector acknowledged that child poverty is “a serious problem.” He committed to doing what it takes to confront it. The plan was developed as local charities and organizations were becoming more concerned about how these policies were harming the children in the region. This pledge directly responds to those mounting concerns.
Starmer highlighted the achievements of the last Labour government, which successfully reduced child poverty during its tenure. He took enormous pride in those achievements, and all but promised that he would repeat that success within his own administration. His remarks are a resounding confirmation of a letter sent recently by a coalition of 90 North East charities and organizations. They called on new Chancellor Rachel Reeves to abolish her arbitrary policy cap on child poverty. The signatories calculation Home and Away is a policy that the signatories estimated negatively impacts around 70,000 children in the North East.
We need to tackle child poverty head on in North East,” announced the Prime Minister. This concern strikes a particular chord with political leaders who care about the well-being of the children in their area. The call for change has gained traction among local leaders, including MP Bridget Phillipson, who co-chairs a task force examining the policy’s implications. Phillipson has described the existing policy as a “spiteful attack on children,” asserting that they are “punished and pushed into hardship through no fault of their own.”
Reacting to the report, Clare Morley, chief exec of North Tyneside-based charitable rise, called for urgent action on rising child poverty. On the coast, she explained that removing the cap on welfare payments would be a transformative benefit for children in her area.
“Lots of the causes of inequalities are complicated, but scrapping the limit at the autumn Budget will go a long way to giving children in our region the start in life that they deserve.” – Clare Morley
These recent County Durham local elections were notable for unprecedented political upheaval. These amendments would have a real impact on how future appropriations and support are directed toward child welfare programs. Nigel Farage’s UKIP party seized power of the county council, winning 65 of 98 seats. All of this was happening while Labour town councillors watched their ranks wither down to a mere four councillors. This shift in the political landscape leads to one crucial question—how will governance at the local level respond to urgent issues like child poverty?
In another positive step, the government announced an £11 million Pride in Place fund. Designed to be aspirational, this continuing initiative will pour up to £20 million into thirteen winning communities per decade in Middlesbrough, Sunderland, County Durham, Newcastle, Gateshead, Stockton and South and North Tyneside. An extra £1.5 million each has gone to Newcastle, Sunderland, South Tyneside, Gateshead, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough. This funding was meant to prioritize the most impacted communities that have been marginalized.
The Prime Minister commented on this initiative, stating that it seeks “to put funding into those areas directly for 10 years” while granting local communities control over how the funds are utilized. He admitted that solving deep-seated inequalities is no simple task. There’s nuance, strategy, and time involved.
“We had to get the welfare provisions right and we talked to our colleagues about that earlier this year, but the main frustration is clearly that people understandably want change to happen more quickly.” – The Prime Minister
As these conversations about child poverty move forward, local leaders will keep fighting the good fight to be heard and effect change. Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge is an important sign of a commitment to address this important issue. It serves as a crucial part of a larger plan focused on creating social value across the North East.
