Rushanara Ali MP today strongly criticised the Government’s record on child poverty, following the publication of latest statistics which found highest levels of child poverty in Bethnal Green and Bow.

The report made the following findings:

• Some 49% of children growing up in Bethnal Green and Bow are now growing up in poverty (after factoring in housing costs);
• Bethnal Green and Bow – alongside neighbouring constituency Poplar and Limehouse – now has the highest levels of child poverty in the UK;
• On average throughout the UK, nearly one in six (15.9%) of children are now classified as being in child poverty, though that proportion rises to 25.1% once housing costs have been taken into account.

Highlighting the Government’s failure to tackle child poverty, Rushanara said:

“This Government has allowed child poverty to reach crisis point. When almost half of the children in Bethnal Green and Bow are condemned to a childhood of poverty, it is clear that this Government has failed to fulfil its basic responsibility to provide for our children and young people.”  

“David Cameron should be ashamed of his record on child poverty and for failing to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. Only a Labour Government has the vision to ease this crisis by tackling low pay, strengthening the minimum wage, protecting Surestart centres and extending childcare for families.”

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ENDS 

Notes

1) Rushanara Ali was a commissioner on the London Child Poverty Commission before entering Parliament in 2010.

2) You can read Rushanara’s latest speech in Parliament on child poverty and social mobility in June 2014 here.

3) As noted in the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission’s reaction to the Government’s draft Child Poverty strategy, 600,000 more children are expected to be in child poverty by 2015/6 as in 2010. This can be read here.

4) The IFS estimates that there will be 4.7 million living in child poverty by 2020.