"Child Poverty Map"???

[Patrick]

The usual response when there's talk of child poverty is that there is "No such thing as poverty!" Yet many a journalist, and the odd Millionaire, has gone under cover in this country and found areas of deprivation that wouldn't look out of place in Victorian times......

"Millions of children in the UK are living in or on the brink of poverty, according to a report from the Campaign to End Child Poverty.

The umbrella organisation, which includes Barnardo’s, UNICEF, Save The Children and the TUC, has released data for every parliamentary constituency in the UK

It found that in Birmingham's Ladywood constituency, 81% of children were living in low income families - the highest proportion in the UK.

Low income means families where no-one is working more than 16 hours a week or where the family is receiving the full amount of Working Tax Credit.

The campaigners say this is not a direct measure of exactly how many children are in poverty, but is a good indicator of which areas have the highest child poverty levels. "

.....and the above is "it".

Main Story

[housesparrow]

So however generous the benefits system, those in it are by definition living in poverty?

[Patrick]

Interesting little clip on the BBC page with the family on £600 a month.......

[housesparrow]

Was the family on benefits? Presumably rent and council tax are paid in full, leaving the money for fuel bills and food.

If a member of the family is working, daily transport will probably eat a big, big hole in any income. I wouldn't want to live on it either way, but I'm not sure that children from the poorest families are necessarily the most deprived. Some people know how to make money stretch, others with more money struggle to make ends meet. Debt is often the make-or-break factor.