One in three London children living in poverty, charity warns

A third of children in London, some 600,000 youngsters, are living in poverty, according to a charity.

The End Child Poverty coalition said the figures for 2020-21 highlighted how many families cannot afford the essentials.

With the cost of living continuing to rise, parents are being urged not to attempt to hide financial difficulties from children.

The government said it was providing extra support for struggling families.

More than half of children growing up in Tower Hamlets were found to be living in poverty, while the figure was more than 40% in five other London boroughs - Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich, Hackney, Newham and Waltham Forest. That is compared to a national average of 27%.

BBC London spoke to children at the North Kensington local community centre, the Venture Community Association, who said they had noticed the purse strings being tightened.

Shaquill, aged 10, said his parents had been frank with him about having less cash for treats.

"I've heard they're struggling with bills as the payments have gone higher," he said.

"I've asked for stuff but since the payments have gone up they have told me they can't afford it."

Eight-year-old Quinneisha said her parents sometimes did not have enough money to pay for electricity.

Meanwhile Amani, also aged eight, said she was helping to put a lot of thought into what the family could afford.

She said: "When my mum has some work days off we try not to spend too much money until we collect up more.

"We have stopped buying lots of things but we're going to make sure we definitely like the things that we're going to buy before we buy them sometimes, and we're careful what we spend our money on."

The adventure playground is funded by the Childhood Trust, which said it had seen a rise in demand for its services as the cost of living has gone up.

Melissa Richards Bacchus, from the Venture Community Association, said more and more parents were sharing their concerns with them about how to make ends meet.

She said: "Parents have come in and voiced that the cost of living has had an effect on them, where shopping becomes really hard, paying their bills and having to balance which bill that they pay.

"For us here, we provide the children with a hot, healthy meal so when they enter here it's a completely free service that eliminates that worry for parents."

Laurence Guinness, chief executive of the Childhood Trust, said parents should not be afraid to talk to their children about budget changes they need to make, and should seek help from organisations which can support families.

"Children see everything, they hear everything," he said. "It's much better to acknowledge that with children and tell them that bills will come and go but that things will be ok."

The figures were described as "alarmingly high" by End Child Poverty coalition chair Joseph Howes, who said they showed that struggling families need more support, and added the lack of a national child poverty strategy was "heart-breaking".

He said: "These are grim figures for London but it's grimmer still that many of the children who were lifted out of poverty last year by the £20 uplift to universal credit have already been forced back over the brink by the decision to cut the uplift.

"With the cost of living crisis showing no signs of subsiding, the picture in London is likely to worsen unless the new government takes action."

The government said it was providing extra support for struggling families, including the first of two cost of living instalments of £650 from Thursday, as part of a £37bn government package

A spokesperson said: "We recognise people are struggling with rising prices which is why we are protecting the eight million most vulnerable families with at least £1,200 of direct payments, starting this week.

"All households will receive the £400 energy payments and 80% will get a £150 council tax rebate.

"Vulnerable families in England are also being supported by the government's Household Support Fund - which was boosted by £500m - to help pay for essentials."

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