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: Children in Relative Poverty by sub-county area

Local Children in Poverty Dashboard

To maximise this dashboard to full screen or download, please click on the 3 dots in the top right of the dashboard.

Key Messages (Children aged 0 to 19)

Relative Poverty

• • • Current: 27.3% (31,894 children) of children under the age of 19 were estimated to be living in relative poverty
      • The proportion of children living in relative poverty in both the county and the North East has remained higher than the levels seen across England and have increased at a greater rate than those nationally.
      • In the financial year 2020/21 an estimated 27.3% of children under the age of 19 were living in relative poverty in County Durham, an increase of 55.8% since 2015/16. Across the North East the figure was slightly higher at 28.9% while nationally (England) the figure fell to 18.5%.
      • This is an increase from 18.5% in 2015/16, with the number of children in living in relative poverty rising from an estimated 16,400 (aged children under 16) to 26,300, an increase of 60.6%.
      • Across the North East the number of children aged 0-19 in relative poverty increased by 56.6%, while across England the figure increased by 17.4%.

Absolute Poverty

• • • Current: 25.1% (29,293 children) of children under the age of 19 were estimated to be living in absolute poverty
      • The proportion of children living in absolute poverty in both the county and the north east has remained higher than the levels seen across England and have increased at a greater rate than those nationally.
      • In the financial year 2020/21 an estimated 25.1% of children under the age of 19 were living in absolute poverty in County Durham, an increase of 53.2%. Across the North East the figure was slightly higher at 26.5% while nationally (England) the figure fell slightly to 15.3%.
      • This is an increase from 17.2% in 2015/16, with the number of children in living in absolute poverty rising from an estimated 15,300 (aged children under 16) to around 24,100, an increase of 57.9%.
      • Across the North East the number of children in absolute poverty increased by 57.2%, while across England the figure increased by 2.7%.

Key Messages (Children aged 0 to 16)

Relative Poverty

• • • Current: 28.9% (26,317 children) of children under the age of 16 were estimated to be living in relative poverty
      • The proportion of children living in relative poverty in both the county and the North East has remained higher than the levels seen across England and have increased at a greater rate than those nationally.
      • In the financial year 2020/21 an estimated 28.9% of children under the age of 16 were living in relative poverty in County Durham. Across the North East the figure was slightly higher at 29.6% while nationally (England) the figure fell to 18.5%.
      • This is an increase from 18.5% in 2015/16, with the number of children in living in relative poverty rising from an estimated 16,400 (aged children under 16) to 26,300, an increase of 60.6%.
      • Across the North East the number of children in relative poverty increased by 64.6%, while across England the figure increased by 19.4%.

Absolute Poverty

• • • Current: 26.4% (24,080 children) of children under the age of 16 were estimated to be living in absolute poverty
      • The proportion of children living in absolute poverty in both the county and the north east has remained higher than the levels seen across England and have increased at a greater rate than those nationally.
      • In the financial year 2020/21 an estimated 26.4% of children under the age of 16 were living in absolute poverty in County Durham. Across the North East the figure was slightly higher at 27.1% while nationally (England) the figure fell slightly to 15.2%.
      • This is an increase from 17.2% in 2015/16, with the number of children in living in absolute poverty rising from an estimated 15,300 (aged children under 16) to around 24,100, an increase of 57.9%.
      • Across the North East the number of children in absolute poverty increased by 62%, while across England the figure increased by 4.2%.

Child Poverty and Deprivation

By combining this child poverty data with the results from the Index of Deprivation 2019, the link between higher levels of child poverty in more deprived areas can be demonstrated.  The infographic below shows this relationship using a scatter plot of the proportion of children in poverty against the areas national deprivation ranking.  This is mapped at the Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) geography (see the ‘By Geography’ section below).

The plot clearly shows that the more deprived an area is it overall, the more likely it is to have a higher proportion of children living in poverty.

By Geography (Children aged 0 to 16)

This new measure of child poverty also allows for analysis at a local, sub-county level.  The following provides an overview of the data for four sub-county geographies: Lower Super Output Area (LSOA), Electoral Ward, Area Action Partnership area (AAP) and Family First Areas (FFAs).

Further information on some of the local geographies in County Durham is available on the Geography Descriptions page.

Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs)

The LSOA geography was developed for the decennial Census by the Office for National Statistics.  Across County Durham there are 324 LSOAs and across England there are 32,844 LSOAs.

Relative Poverty

• • 157 LSOAs have a higher proportion of children living in relative poverty than the county average of 28.9%.
  • 56.9% of the children living in the Ferryhill Dene Bank North LSOA were living in relative poverty – the highest proportion out of all 324 LSOAs.

Absolute Poverty

• 153 LSOAs have a higher proportion of children living in absolute poverty than the county average of 25.1%.
• 26.4% of the children living in the Coundon Grange LSOA were living in absolute poverty – the highest proportion out of all 324 LSOAs.

Electoral Ward

Relative Poverty

There are 63 electoral wards covering County Durham – see Durham County Council – Wards.

• 29 wards have a higher proportion of children living in relative poverty than the county average of 28.9%.
• 45.2% of the children living in the Shildon and Dene Valley ward were living in relative poverty – the highest proportion out of all 63 wards.

Absolute Poverty

There are 63 electoral wards covering County Durham – see Durham County Council – Wards.

• 31 wards have a higher proportion of children living in absolute poverty than the county average of 26.4%.
• 41.5% of the children living in the Shildon and Dene Valley ward were living in absolute poverty – the highest proportion out of all 63 wards.

Area Action Partnerships

Relative Poverty

There are 14 AAPs covering County Durham – see Durham County Council – AAPs.

• 7 AAPs have a higher proportion of children living in relative poverty than the county average of 28.9%.
• 37.9% of the children living in the Bishop Auckland and Shildon AAP were living in relative poverty – the highest proportion out of all 14 AAPs.

Absolute Poverty

There are 14 AAPs covering County Durham – see Durham County Council – AAPs.

• 7 AAPs have a higher proportion of children living in absolute poverty than the county average of 26.4%.
• 34.6% of the children living in the Bishop Auckland and Shildon AAP were living in absolute poverty – the highest proportion out of all 14 AAPs.

Family First Areas

Relative Poverty

There are 14 FFAs covering County Durham.

• 9 FFAs have a higher proportion of children living in relative poverty than the county average of 28.9%.
• 38.5% of the children living in the Shildon South Church & Chilton FFA were living in relative poverty – the highest proportion out of all 14 FFAs.

Absolute Poverty

There are 14 FFAs covering County Durham.

• 9 FFAs have a higher proportion of children living in absolute poverty than the county average of 26.4%.
• 35.5% of the children living in the Shildon South Church & Chilton FFA were living in absolute poverty – the highest proportion out of all 14 FFAs.

The following infographic provides more detail:

 

Definitions and Links

Links

• Free School Meals
• Children in Low Income Families – Local Measure (DWP & HMRC)
• Index of Deprivation 2019 (MHCLG)

Definitions