Large numbers of children living in child poverty in Kent

In some areas as high as a quarter of children

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Shocking new figures have revealed the extent of child poverty in our county, with some areas seeing more than a quarter of children living in deprivation.

Thanet stood out with the most worrying statistic, with 28 per cent of its children living well below the breadline.

Even more disturbing is when broken down into wards, figures show one area in Thanet – Newington – has almost 50 per cent of children living in poverty.

Other districts have pockets of deprivation, while Swale, Shepway, Medway, Dover and Gravesham are above the 20 per cent mark.

Sheerness West and Sheerness East in the Swale district have 46 per cent and 45 per cent respectively of children living in deprivation.

The data, which covered 2012, was published by the Campaign to End Child Poverty.

The organisation revealed the shocking poverty map in a bid to spark action from local authorities.

It also highlighted the huge disparity in child poverty between the different areas of Kent where some districts have almost a quarter in deprivation while others, such as those in the west of the county, have significantly less.

Child poverty is defined as a youngster living in a household where the family claim out-of-work benefits or working tax credits where the income is 60 per cent or less than the UK average income.

This means a family surviving on as little as £258 per week.

Chair of the Campaign to End Child Poverty, Enver Solomon, said: “Whilst the levels of deprivation in the south east are not as high as other parts of the country, there are still far too many children whose parents are struggling to make a living and are having to go hungry and miss out on the essentials of a decent childhood that all young people should be entitled to.

“The huge disparities that exist across the region are becoming more entrenched and are now an enduring reality as many more children are set to become trapped in long term poverty and disadvantage.”

Mr Solomon said while he realised councils are currently having to deal with reduced budgets, he stressed they still have “critical decisions” to make.

“We’re calling on authorities to prioritise low income families in the decisions they make about local welfare spending, including spending on the new council tax benefit, and on protecting families hit by the bedroom tax,” he said.

Green Party MEP for Kent, Keith Taylor, said it was “deeply concerning” that a fifth of children in Kent are living in deprivation.

“What’s even more distressing is the prediction that more children are to drop below the poverty line,” he said.

“At a time when the coalition government is cutting income tax for the highest earners to drive more people into poverty is inexcusable and shows a plain disregard for ordinary people.”

Local authority: Children living in poverty (%)

Ashford 18

Canterbury 20

Dartford 19

Dover 22

Gravesham 22

Maidstone 17

Medway (UA) 23

Sevenoaks 14

Shepway 23

Swale 25

Thanet 28

Tonbridge and Malling 14

Tunbridge Wells 14