In August 2024, the Mayor and North East Combined Authority Cabinet set up the country’s first Child Poverty Reduction Unit (CPRU), backed with £500,000 initial investment, to develop an action plan across the region.
In November 2024, the Mayor convened the Child Poverty Summit, attended by 350 people from across the region to galvanise action and begin work on the CPRU’s priorities. You can watch sessions here from the Summit, and find out more about the local leaders from across public, private and voluntary sectors backing the Mayor’s plan.
Between January and March, the Mayor and CPRU met in all seven local authority areas, with community groups, charities, schools and many other organisations to develop grassroots plans tailored to local needs, and the strengths and opportunities of each part of the region.
What action has the Mayor taken to tackle child poverty?
The Mayor has taken a number of steps to tackle the drivers of child poverty, and provide immediate support to families facing pressures from the cost of living. This includes:
- Creating the Mayor’s Childcare Grant, to help parents return to work or training. A pilot will launch in Spring 2025 and be rolled out across wider local authority areas by the end of 2025.
- A £50 million package to help 13,500 people who face barriers due to health and disability, to find and stay in work.
- Committing £2.7 million to support families, schools and employers in the academic year 2024/25. The measures include financial advice ‘at the school gate’; help to cut the cost of the school day; and free after school clubs and learning sessions. 1,500 new parents will receive ‘baby boxes’ to help give their children the best start in life.
- Extending of the £1 fare for young people aged 21 and under on bus, Metro and Ferry next year, and doing everything possible to keep the affordable fare in place until 2028.
- Working with local authorities to auto-enrol pupils for free school meals, and working with ministers and others to roll out breakfast clubs across the North East
What will happen next?
The CPRU will develop a draft of its action plan to go to June Cabinet for Combined Authority approval, with recommendations for initial investments to go further and faster on action to tackle child poverty and help families. Families and young people with lived experience of poverty will have the opportunity to shape the plan and its implementation in ongoing engagement sessions.
The plan will be based on insights and feedback gathered from the Child Poverty Summit and from the community engagement, which were themed around four key areas:
- Maximising family incomes now
- Making work a route out of poverty
- Best start in life
- A region-wide anti-poverty commitment
How many children live in poverty in the North East and what impact does this have?
Around 118,000 babies, children and young people in the North East Combined Authority area live in poverty, two thirds of which are in a family with at least one parent or carer in work.Single parent families and families with under-5s are disproportionately affected by poverty in the North East. Growing up in poverty can have a significant impact on children’s immediate and future outcomes – and makes it much harder for young people to achieve their potential.
For example, by the end of Key Stage 4, students from what are described as ‘disadvantaged’ backgrounds in the North East were 18.1 months behind their peers in 2019. In 2022, this had risen to 18.8 months. The gap has increased at all stages of education, with children from disadvantaged backgrounds 4.8 months behind their peers before starting school.
How can I keep up to date with the Mayor’s child poverty plan?
The Mayor sends regular updates about the work of CPRU. To be added to the subscription, or to get involved in the work of CPRU to tackle child poverty, please email Childpovertyreduction@northeast-ca.gov.uk
And to keep up the Mayor and Combined Authority’s work, sign up to the Mayor’s newsletter below and follow us on social media.