Tackling Child Poverty in South Tyneside

South Tyneside has held the North East's first Child Poverty Summit with representatives from organisations across the borough and region vowing to tackle child poverty head on.

Partners from across the North East came together to build up a comprehensive picture of the situation in South Tyneside and identify actions that will form part of the Council's emerging Child Poverty Strategy and in turn influence the regional strategy being led by the North East Combined Authority.

A number of key themes emerged from the Summit which was shaped by young people.

Themes included food insecurity and the threshold for free school meal provision, the cost of the school day and the challenges and barriers facing families and young people, along with the direct link between child poverty and health inequalities and the importance of reducing in-work poverty.

As a result of the Summit, the Council is committing to; raising the key issues from the Summit with the Combined Authority and Government; enhancing support to schools to reduce the cost of the school day and support parents just above the Free School Meal threshold; encouraging take-up of Free School Meals; rolling out more baby boxes to new parents; providing further welfare support within Family Hubs; and expanding advice on money matters and help on sustainable cooking to parents within school settings.

Cllr Tracey Dixon, Leader of South Tyneside Council said: "It is impossible not to feel emotional when you hear the conditions that many of our families are living in.  There are staggering levels of child poverty within our borough and region. We know that almost a third of young people in South Tyneside are living in poverty and the impact of that on children's lives and childhoods can be linked to low birth weight in babies, poor physical and mental health and much more.

"While there is a huge amount of work going on to alleviate poverty in South Tyneside, most of the levers to action real change are still in the control of central government and we are lobbying hard for change. Instead of dealing with the effects of poverty, we need to stop people being in poverty in the first place.

"The summit highlighted the commitment and determination of people to work together to address child poverty and it was heartening to see all the positive interventions in place, including the work with young people and schools.  We made poverty a priority long before the cost-of-living crisis hit. We've worked collaboratively with partners and the third sector, and it is that co-operative approach that sets South Tyneside apart and has enabled us to do so much for those most in need of support. But we must do more! The Summit sent a clear and resounding message: together, we can address child poverty, we need change and quickly."

Council Leader Cllr Dixon is the regional lead for Education, Inclusion and Skills at the North East Combined Authority and Deputy Chair of the regional Child Poverty Reduction Unit. The Council, together with the North East Combined Authority want to go further and faster to make a real difference to the lives of residents.

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: "Tackling poverty child poverty is the biggest challenge we face in the North East and my number one priority as Mayor. Poverty is holding families and our region back. That's why I've established the Child Poverty Reduction Unit, which will tackle the issue head on. We're investing in more affordable childcare, more social housing and more good jobs to create the foundations for a North East free of poverty, as well as making sure public transport is more affordable for hard-pressed families. 

"However, we know there is much more to do. South Tyneside Council and Cllr Dixon have led the way on this agenda, showing that it is possible to tackle poverty and create opportunity with political will, leadership and a clear and comprehensive plan. That's the approach I want to take across the North East, so no more of our young people are held back and can fulfil their potential."

South Tyneside's Youth Council were involved in the organisation of the Summit and led a debate to stimulate discussion around the room on issues such as extension of free school meals, the financial impact of the two-child benefit cap on families and key drivers of poverty.

Yacub Ahmed Member of Youth Parliament for South Tyneside, working with South Tyneside Youth Council said: "It is so important that young people are involved in these discussions so that we can shape the strategy together. Our role as members of the Youth Council is to ensure that children's voices are heard

"We work hard on a variety of events to ensure our voices are heard. This could be attending events like the Child Poverty summit, council events, talking to key speakers, leading debates, this allows us to interact and get feedback from key policy makers and people in the council to ensure any issues that we have are being heard from a youth perspective and that our young people's voices are being taken into consideration when discussing important policies like Child Poverty."

The Child Poverty Summit and emerging strategy builds on a significant amount of work by South Tyneside Council since its Poverty Commission was established by the former People Select Committee back in 2020. The Council has already established a multi-partner South Tyneside Poverty Group and has held two Anti-Poverty summit from which a raft of measures have already been implemented in South Tyneside to help people through the cost-of-living crisis. This includes the establishment of over 70 Welcoming Places, a boost for crisis funding, school uniform and holiday provision and Council Tax support as well as support for food banks. The Council's anti-poverty strategy was approved in March 2024 and is being implemented across the borough, with no one organisation able to deal with the magnitude of the issue, partnership working is at the very heart of the approach.

A dedicated web page highlights cost of living support at www.southtyneside.gov.uk/costofliving