Bulwell MP vows to make Government keep promises on child poverty

Mr Norris was speaking after seeing his Nottingham North constituency record the highest rate of child poverty in Nottinghamshire in research carried out by Loughborough University on behalf of the End Child Poverty coalition.

National poverty charity Turn2Us says the figures reveal that child poverty has continued to rise in the majority of constituencies in the East Midlands even before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The figures show more than one in four (27 per cent) children are now in poverty after housing costs in the East Midlands.

In Nottingham North, 8,587 children are currently living in poverty – 35.5 per cent of all children in the constituency.

That’s a rise of 4.7 per cent, making Nottingham North the worst area in the county for child poverty and the fourth-worst in the East Midlands behind Leicester East, Leicester South and Leicester West.

Mr Norris laid the blame squarely at the door of the Government and vowed to ensure it kept it’s promise to address the issue.

He said: “For the last decade, the East Midlands has been ignored for investment and seen significant cuts to local services.

"This has hammered social mobility and heightened child poverty.

The way to tackle this is meaningful spending on education, skills and investment in jobs and businesses.

"After 11 years of failing to do this the Government is now promising to change course and I will be holding them to that promise."

The rise in poverty comes despite most families working, with stagnating incomes, high housing costs and cuts to the social security system being blamed for pushing many families to the brink

Sara Willcocks, head of external affairs at Turn2us, said: “The impact of growing up in poverty is well documented.

“Unfortunately, our children are now paying the debt for a decade of austerity, cuts and freezes.

“If the government truly believes in compassion and justice, ministers must fully commit to solving it.

"We are urging the Prime Minister to listen to our recommendations and include them in a comprehensive strategy to end child poverty once and for all.”