Two areas in Scotland see among worst rises in absolute child poverty in UK

Research finds two areas in Scotland are in the UK top 10 for the worst rise in absolute child poverty in the last decade.

Two areas in Scotland are in the UK top 10 for the worst rise in absolute child poverty in the last decade.

Gordon, in the north-east of Scotland, has seen the biggest increase in the entire UK, with child poverty soaring by a shocking 68.5 per cent.Glasgow Central also ranks highly, fourth in the UK after a 54 per cent jump in kids living in extreme deprivation, according to poverty and homelessness charity Church On The Street.

These horrific increases in Gordon and Glasgow Central compare compared to a UK average increase of 2.5 per cent in absolute child poverty between 2014-15 and 2022-23. Absolute poverty is when household income is below a certain level meaning that person or family can't meet their basic needs.

The research Church on the Street uses the latest data from the UK Parliament and the House of Commons to discover which UK constituencies had the biggest increase in absolute child poverty. The absolute child poverty level is defined by the number of children aged 0-15 in households where income is less than 60 per cent of the national median household income.

Elsewhere in the UK, Bassetlaw in the East Midlands had the second biggest increase in absolute child poverty in the UK, jumping 57.4 per cent since 2014-15. Nearby, Nottingham North had the third biggest increase of 55.8 per cent.

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The East Midlands is home to eight of the top 10 areas, with Scotland making up the other two. South Derbyshire, Boston and Skegness and Amber Valley are fifth, sixth and seventh on the list, all with increases of more than 50 per cent. Gainsborough and Nottingham South in the East Midlands are ninth and tenth on the list.

At the other end of the scale, Foyle in Northern Ireland had the biggest decrease in absolute poverty, falling by 40 per cent, while Beckenham in London was second, with the rate decreasing by 37.1 per cent. No Scottish constituencies were in the top 10 biggest decreases in child poverty.

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Pastor Mick Fleming, founder of Church on The Street, said: “The levels of poverty we have seen children enduring over the past 8-10 years has been absolutely shocking. Absolute poverty is a state of deprivation that children and young people - especially in the 21st century, in what is supposedly one of the richest countries in the world - should never even think of having to endure.

"The new government must move to change the unacceptable living conditions for children and their families, or we risk losing an entire generation."

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