Child poverty: 5,245 at risk

A TOTAL of 5,245 children and young people are at risk of poverty in Warrington, according to a report to Town Hall scrutiny chiefs.
The total represents about 13.8 per cent of the overall population – and 22 per cent of the children at risk living in the inner wards.
A further 6.6 per cent live in outer wards, according to the report of the Children’s Young People and Skills Overview and Scrutiny committee.
Coun Wendy Johnson, chairman of the committee and the Child Poverty Working Group said: “The working group faced a difficult task in trying to find a way forward, realising that child poverty is a vast and very complex issue with links to many contributing factors.
“The working group hopes that the report enables the committee to monitor the provision of services and assist in the reduction of child poverty in Warrington.”
Objectives of the review were to increase understanding of the issues surrounding child poverty in Warrington, understand and identify partner involvement in reducing child poverty and to make recommendations for improvement where possible.
A number of performance indicators were used to arrive at a figure for children at risk and the borough was divided into four contrasting areas for the survey.
Sankey Valley – covered the west of the borough – and Birchwood, the north east, were found to have mixed results.
Central west Warrington – Bewsey, Dallam and Whitecross – was found to have the worst results and Lymm, in the south east, to have the best.
Unemployment, low skills, low pay, poor health and disability are among the main contributory factors – coupled with lone parents and large families.
The report indicated a strong relationship between deprivation and childhood hospital admissions for injury and revealed an unexplained overall increase in the number of youngsters attending accident and emergency.
It came to the conclusion that child poverty could be addressed by councils and their partners in ways that could not be addressed by central government. But it was not just an issue for the Children’s Service directorate, but a cross directorate, cross service, cross partnership issue.
Among 14 recommendations the report suggests are developing an overarching child poverty strategy, carrying out a local needs assessment on children living in poverty in the borough, considering how integrated working might be expanded and exploring improvements and integrated working with adult services.
Others include exploring how parents not engaging with schooling might be encouraged to do so and how the impact of the economic downturn might be minimised.
The working group consider this essential to ensuring child poverty in Warrington does not increase.