A study showing the number of children across Britain who are classed as living in poverty has highlighted a stark contrast across Northamptonshire.
The report by The Campaign to End Child Poverty showed South Northamptonshire had one of the lowest child poverty rates in the country at under five per cent.
But elsewhere in the county, the number of children living in poverty rose to 18 per cent in Northampton and Corby, 10 per cent in East Northamptonshire and nine per cent in Daventry.
The chairman of the campaign, Enver Solomon, said: “There are still far too many children whose parents are struggling to make a living and are having to go hungry and miss out on the essentials of a decent childhood that all young people should be entitled to.
“We’re calling on councils to prioritise low income families in the decisions they make about local welfare spending, including spending on the new council tax benefit, and on protecting families hit by the bedroom tax.
“This week we have written to local authority leaders with the most child poverty, asking them what they will do to tackle child poverty in their area.”
The Campaign to End Child Poverty is a coalition of more than 100 charities.
The group’s report said well over half of parents in poverty said they had cut back on food and over a quarter had skipped meals in the past year.
Almost 20 per cent of parents in poverty also said their children had to go without new shoes when they need them and a large number of children in poverty said they were missing out on things that many other children take for granted, such as going on school trips and having a warm coat in winter.
Only 20 per cent of parents in poverty said they had not had to borrow money to pay for essentials, such as food and clothes, in the past year.
The area of the country with the highest child poverty rate was Tower Hamlets in London, where 52 per cent of children were classed as living in poverty.
 |  |