Child poverty in Bristol mapped by new study

More than a quarter of children in Bristol are living in poverty, according to new research from a charity that maps child poverty across the country.

The data from End Child Poverty says that 26.44 per cent of children in the city live in poverty once housing costs are taken into account.

In Lawrence Hill, nearly half of children living there are classed as living in poverty (47.9 per cent), while a further 10 of the 35 wards across the city have child poverty rates above 30 per cent. 

In six wards though, child poverty ran at less than 10 per cent, with Clifton East with the lowest proportion (5.23 per cent). 

Bristol West though had the highest overall child poverty rate of every parliamentary constituency in the region, at 29 per cent, with Bristol East and Bristol North West on 24 per cent, and Bristol South on 28 per cent.

The charity said the figures revealed a nation where child poverty reached widely and deeply into even the most affluent neighbourhoods, and called on politicians on all sides to “urgently set out a clear roadmap towards ending child poverty”.

Chair of End Child Poverty David Holmes said: “These figures reveal just how widely and deeply child poverty reaches into our communities, even those areas generally regarded as well off. 

“Far too many children whose parents are struggling to make a living are suffering as a result and missing out on the essentials of a decent childhood to which all young people should be entitled. We can and must do better for our children.”

Children’s charity Barnardo’s meanwhile called the figures a “shocking indictment of our ability to tackle child poverty”.

Work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, said in March that the government was on target to end child poverty by 2020. But the Institute for Fiscal Studies has predicted that on current projections, by 2020 child poverty is likely to have increased by 39 per cent.

A government spokesman said the figures did “not provide an accurate picture of child poverty”, and highlighted the numbers out of work falling to below two million nationally as part of their “goal of ending child poverty by 2020”.

UK unemployment fell to its lowest level since 2008, according to the Office of National Statistics, with the number of unemployed people at 1.97million.

It was the first time below the two million mark since the three months between September and November 2008.

In Bristol, there were 9,257 Jobseekers Allowance claimants in the year from July 2013 to June 2014. 

The spokesman said: “The figures do not provide an accurate picture of child poverty. We’re doing more than ever to help children, the attainment gap for deprived pupils has fallen and we’ve just seen the largest fall in unemployment since 1988.

“We remain committed to our goal of ending child poverty by 2020. We’ve already made great strides under this government with 300,000 fewer children in relative poverty and 290,000 fewer children growing up in workless families.”

Read the End Child Poverty report

Picture: Shutterstock