Child poverty is rising in every part of South Yorkshire
Children's charities say it's "deeply worrying"
There's a warning child poverty will get worse before it gets better, as shocking new stats reveal it's still rising in every part of South Yorkshire.
In some parts of our county more than 40% of kids are now living below the bread line according to data from the End Child Poverty Coalition.
All four council areas in South Yorkshire have a rate of more than 1 in 3.
Allan Ogle's from our charity Cash for Kids who help disadvantaged South Yorkshire families - he says the pandemic's made things even worse:
"You've got families who were given a pay cut when they were put on to furlough - they were staying at home and naturally household bills were going up.
"Kids that were getting a meal in school were now having to be fed at home and obviously as we progressed towards the winter months families were spending significantly more trying to keep the heating on.
"You've got the choice of: do you get clothes for your children, do you put food on the table, do you turn the heating up? How can you be in a position in an established country like ours having to face choices like that? That will obviously impact the mental health of the parents or carers that they've got those choices to make."
Hillsborough and Brightside and Rotherham are among the worst places for child poverty in Yorkshire according the new stats, with more than 40% of children in both constituencies living in families with below 60% of the median income, after housing costs.
And the research, for the 2019/20 year, doesn't even take into account the effect of the pandemic.
Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, said:
“These deeply worrying figures reveal the true extent of the hardship facing families across Yorkshire and the Humber – even before the pandemic hit. With child poverty rates rising, children in the region are among those most exposed to the devastating economic consequences of the pandemic.
“Our frontline workers tell us that poverty levels are at the worst they’ve ever seen, as they deliver vital support to families in the region desperately trying to keep their kids clothed and well-fed.
“We are desperately concerned this generation of children have had their childhoods and life chances damaged and disrupted by poverty and the pandemic."