Earlier this year, IPPR North and the North East Child Poverty Commission launched a new project to jointly explore what a child poverty strategy for the North East could and should look like.
This is a significant challenge – our region has experienced the steepest increases in child poverty of anywhere in the UK since 2014/15. Two-thirds of children living in poverty across the North East are from working families. And we have a larger share of children and young people living in a number of groups of families who have a higher risk of poverty, including those where someone has a disability and lone parents.
But we also have a significant opportunity. Next year could bring a general election, along with regional elections for two combined authority mayors with significant funding, networks, and voice to intervene. Now is the time for leaders at all levels to act on this critical issue for the North East, if our region is to fulfil its incredible potential.
That’s why we have progressed this work at pace, informed by our cross-sector advisory group chaired by former regional MP Baroness Hilary Armstrong. Over the last few months, we have heard from local government, business and employers, charities and community organisations, trade unions, academia, social workers, teachers, school leaders, housing providers, welfare rights advisers, youth workers, healthcare practitioners, and many more – including young people themselves.
