A report into child poverty in the North East has identified Middlesbrough as the worst affected area in the region.

The report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), using figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on households below average income between 2019-22, shows the Teesside town has a child poverty rate of 41 per cent – the highest of any in the North East.

Meanwhile, the North East’s child poverty rate sits at 35 per cent – a figure 4 per cent higher than England, and 6 per cent higher than the UK average.

The region ranked second worst overall in the country sitting slightly behind the West Midlands which has a rate of 38 per cent.

The region’s local authorities with the highest rates were Middlesbrough, Newcastle (38%), South Tyneside (36%), Sunderland (35%), and Redcar and Cleveland (35%).

Additionally, four out of five of the region’s lowest ranking local authorities sit above the UK average – County Durham (34%), Gateshead (33%), Stockton (33%), and Northumberland (31%).

The only local authority in the North East which was not above the UK average level of child poverty was North Tyneside – recording a rate of 29 per cent.

Most read:

Grab our digital subscription for £3 for 3 months and stay connected with local happenings. Click here

The report found the child poverty rate between Middlesbrough (41%) and North Tyneside (29%) was the smallest range between local authorities in England – with a difference of 11 per cent.

The regional poverty rate for the North East is 25 per cent, while the report found that around 200,000 children are living in poverty.

The interim Chair of the North East Child Poverty Commission (NECPC), Michele Deans, labelled the figures as “wholly unacceptable” and called on the country’s leaders to commit to fighting poverty.

She said: “This report provides a devastating and detailed insight into the sheer scale and depth of poverty being experienced by people across the UK, and the appalling impact this can have on every aspect of a person’s life. 

“It is wholly unacceptable that one in four of all people in the North East are living below the poverty line, and yet this has become an entrenched part of life in our region.

“We cannot and must not accept this level of hardship and inequality – not least when we know we have the powers and resources to do something about it, in what remains one of the largest economies in the world.

“It is way beyond time for all political parties to commit to ensuring every person in our country has the right to live with dignity and can – at the very least – afford life’s essentials.

“This is the bare minimum we should be seeking to achieve, and yet for hundreds of thousands people in the North East, even that is becoming increasingly beyond reach.”

Stark figures published by the DWP show that 3.7 million children are in poverty within England, while 4.2 million children are in poverty across the UK.

The JRF are calling on politicians to show voters what they will do to combat this deepening poverty after “two decades of political failure.”

The organisation said six million of the poorest people would need to more than double their income on average to move out of poverty.

It said the average person in poverty has an income of 29 per cent below the poverty line, with this rising from 23 per cent in the mid-1990s.

It added the average income of people in very deep poverty is 59% below the poverty line. 

Paul Carberry, chief executive of Action for Children, said: "The UK government’s number one priority should be fixing its failing approach to tackling poverty, which is hurting children the most.

"Millions are needlessly suffering the misery of hardship at huge financial and societal cost to us all. Only the ministerial will to make the right long-term decisions will help them and future generations escape it.

"The Chancellor must deliver on his manifesto promise to use the benefits system to reduce child poverty. He needs to boost targeted help to our poorest children by increasing the child element of Universal Credit and reform Cost of Living Payments to take family size into account."

The JRF's report into the number of people in poverty and poverty rates for different groups also found that children were the most adversely affected group.

Outside of 'working-age lone parents', it found 'children in lone-parent families', 'children', and 'children in couple families' as the groups with the highest rate of poverty - sitting at 44 per cent, 29 per cent, and 25 per cent respectively.

It said this would be the equivalent of a couple with two children under 14 needing an additional £6,200 per year to reach the poverty line if they were already in poverty – while they would need £12,800 if they were in ‘deep poverty.’

The organisation added poverty levels are now getting closer to pre-pandemic levels with one in five people in the UK in poverty in 2021/22.

It said this equates to three in every 10 children – approximately 4.2 million - being in poverty.

Paul Kissack, Group Chief Executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said:  “It has been almost twenty years and six Prime Ministers since the last prolonged period of falling poverty in the UK. Instead, over the last two decades, we have seen poverty deepen, with more and more families falling further and further below the poverty line. 

“Little wonder that the visceral signs of hardship and destitution are all around us – from rocketing use of foodbanks to growing numbers of homeless families. This is social failure at scale. It is a story of both moral and fiscal irresponsibility – an affront to the dignity of those living in hardship, while driving up pressures on public services like the NHS.   

“It’s a story which can – and must – change.  Governments are not powerless to act, as we have seen throughout our history. One way politicians can take action in the next parliament is to enshrine in law a guarantee that people will always be able to afford the essentials, such as food and household bills, through our benefits system.   

 “2024 will be a year of choices, and any political party wishing to form a new Government must set out a practical and ambitious plan to turn back the tide on poverty in the UK. That plan – to ensure the dignity and respect of every member of our society – will be essential for achieving any broader ambitions for the country”.