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An important new report has just been published by the Northern Health Science Alliance Ltd and the All-Party Parliamentary Group Child of the North.

Child Poverty and the Cost of Living Crisis has found that children in the North are some of the least protected from the current cost of living crisis. New analysis shows that child poverty, including fuel poverty and food insecurity, is higher in the North than the rest of England.

The report has been co-authored by Dr Mandy Cheetham, a Research Fellow with the NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria (NENC) and based at Northumbria University.

The report authors have warned that, for many families, the current economic chaos will deepen an enduring child poverty crisis in the region.

The report found:

• During the pandemic, 34% of children in the North (around 900,000) were living in poverty, compared with 28% in the rest of England. This equates to 160,000 extra children in poverty in the North
• Before the current crisis, around one million households in the North were fuel poor, proportionally more households than in the rest of England – 15% in the North compared to 12%
• In the North, the standing charge for energy prepayment meter customers in Yorkshire and the North East is higher (at around £3.80 per week) than the UK average (of £3.60 per week)
• 23% of children in England who are food insecure miss out on free school meals
• Families in the North are more likely to be living in poor quality, damp homes. Before living costs started to rise, over 98,500 homes in the North already had some form of damp and 1 million homes in the North failed ‘decent homes’ criteria

The report authors have issued a stark warning to government that rising living costs will lead to immediate and lifelong harms for children: worsening physical and mental health outcomes; undermining children’s learning, social wellbeing and education; and risking lower lifelong health and productivity.

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