Children in Poverty

Children in low income families: local area statistics

These experimental Official Statistics on the number (and proportion) of children living in low income families across Great Britain by local area were first released in the March 2021.

Interactive Map: Poverty by Sub-county areas

Additional Analysis: Children in Poverty After Housing Costs (End Child Poverty Coalition)

NOTE: DWP have advised caution when comparing the latest two years of data with previous years as some of the data sources were affected during COVID due to difficulties in collection.  The data suggests that child poverty in the North East and its 12 local authorities, has fallen.  Local free school meal data, (a good proxy measure for poverty), in County Durham has continued to rise.  Further details can be found on the Free School Meals page.

Further details can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Children in low income families Dashboard

 

Key Messages (Children aged 0 to 19) 2023/24

Relative Poverty (Provisional Estimates)

Current: 27.2% (31,000 children estimated) of children under the age of 19 were estimated to be living in relative poverty  (NE: 27.6%; England: 21.9%)

• • • • The current release estimates that the proportion of children in relative poverty in the county has continued to increase and, along with the North East the proportion remains above both areas, remains above national levels.
      • In the financial year 2023/24 an estimated 27.2% of children under the age of 19 were living in relative poverty in County Durham (28.8% of under 16’s).  The North East was similar at 27.6% while nationally (England) the figure was lower at 21.9%.
      • This is an increase from 19.3% in 2014/15, with the number of children in living in relative poverty rising from an estimated 21,800 (aged children under 19) to around 31,000, an increase of 42%.
      • Across the North East the number of children in relative poverty increased by 45%, while across England the figure increased by 41%.  This suggests that the gap between County Durham/North East and England is widening.

Absolute Poverty (Provisional Estimates)

Current: 23.3% (26,600 children) of children under the age of 19 were estimated to be living in absolute poverty (NE: 23.7%; England: 19%)

• • • • The current release estimates that the proportion of children in absolute poverty in the county has continued to increase and, along with the North East the proportion remains above both areas, remains above national levels.
      • In the financial year 2023/24 an estimated 23.3% of children under the age of 19 were living in absolute poverty in County Durham.  Across the North East the figure was slightly higher at 23.7% while nationally (England) the figure was 19%.
      • This is an increase from 18% in 2014/15, with the number of children in living in absolute poverty rising from an estimated 20,300 (aged children under 19) to around 26,600, a rise of 31%.
      • Across the North East the number of children in absolute poverty increased by 34%, while across England the figure increased by 31%. This suggests that the gap between the North East and England is widening.

Definitions and Links

Links

• Free School Meals
• Households Below Average Income (HBAI)
• Children in Low Income Families – Local Measure (DWP & HMRC)

Definitions