Islington is second worst child poverty hotspot
By Sally_Hayden | Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 10:53
Islington was revealed to be the second-worst borough in Britain for child poverty this week; another stark reminder of the huge social divide in what is commonly seen as an affluent area.
Coming second only to Tower Hamlets in the 'Child Poverty Map' released today, Islington is home to some of the UK's most economically challenged families. A shocking 43% of children in the borough are classed by the map as living in poverty. The rate in Tower Hamlets is 52%, while Manchester came third with 40%. The next worst London borough identified in the study was Hackney, with a rate of 39%.
Children were classed as in poverty if their family's income fell below 60% of the average income of £25,000. The study used tax credit data to gain its results. With benefit cuts and job losses on the rise, there are very real fears that the total number of children living in poverty could rise from 2.5 million now to 3.3 million by 2021.
A government spokesman said: "We are supporting local authorities to tackle child poverty in Britain.
"We are tackling the root causes of poverty to break the cycle of deprivation for future generations.
"We also cutting fuel duty, freezing Council Tax, introducing the Pupil Premium, expanding free childcare for poor two-year-olds and cutting income tax for millions.
"Working-age benefits will go up by 5.2% in April and Universal Credit will see nearly 3 million households with a higher level of entitlement than present."
[Source: BBC]
Comments
416expat: I agree, there are huge geographical differences within the borough. But actually, even in the areas you mention the cost of living is still high: as a first-time buyer on a relatively high double income my partner and I could not afford more than a small two-bed flat in any of the areas you mention, and even renting is becoming expensive. This does tend to mean that most people in the borough are at one end of the scale or the other - super rich or in social housing - or somewhere in the middle and struggling. It's not surprising child poverty is a problem.
By Sally_Hayden at 20:00 on 29/01/12
ReportI think you need to make a distinction between Islington the neighbourhood (the posh area around Upper Street) and the Borough of Islington (which includes massive swathes of council housing from Kings Cross to Hoxton to Dalston to Finsbury Park). While the narrow neighbourhood of Islington is doing fine, the broader Borough is something else. The article in question seems to refer to the broad Borough.
By 416expat at 10:29 on 12/01/12
ReportGeorge - it's had the biggest economic divide in London for decades. Huge wealth, but also extreme poverty. Too expensive for most people to buy a home there, a great many residents are either super rich or living in social housing.
By abi_silvester at 20:46 on 10/01/12
ReportI am gobsmacked. I thought Islington was all about organic middle class yummy mummies and Tristrams discussing whether the local state school is really good enough for their precocious sprogs...
By GeorgeHA at 14:22 on 10/01/12
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