London suffers worst child poverty rate

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226285.html

Almost four in ten British children live in London households, where there is just £10 per person per day to cover everything, according to the Campaign to End Child Poverty (ECP).

The charity’s report comes as the Institute of Fiscal Studies estimated the number of British children living below the poverty line will rise by 800,000 by 2020, British media reported.

Despite the rhetoric of politicians, prospects for many of those at the bottom rung of the social ladder in the UK look set to get bleaker rather than brighter as they are hit by a storm of economic challenges, said the report.

In Tower Hamlets, the local authority set to host the 2012 Olympic Games, 52 percent of children live in poverty just a stone’s throw from the riches of the City, while in the borough of Islington, the figure stands at 43 percent, according to the report.

This can be compared to child poverty levels of just seven percent and five percent for the constituencies of Prime Minister David Cameron (Whitney) and his deputy Nick Clegg (Sheffield Hallam) respectively, the report said.

The report paints a good picture of a socially segregated country where children living in the capital are being disproportionately damaged by poverty and inequality.

Meanwhile, in London people also suffer worst from a combination of rising unemployment, increased living costs and welfare cuts.

Childhood poverty in Britain can cause lasting damage, both to individuals and whole communities, the report concluded.

“Living below the poverty line can trap children into a cycle of poor performance at school and reduced job prospects,” explained Sally Copley, UK head of poverty at Save the Children.

“Education is the best route out, but at every stage there is a huge divide between how those from poor backgrounds perform in relation to their peers. Moreover, early years poverty has also been linked with a range of mental and physical health problems, again exacerbating the problem and casting the future of whole generation of Londoners aside”, said Sally Copley.