Poverty, Deprivation and Children’s Health

-Poverty and low socio economic status have a profound effect on child health:  Poor infants are more likely to be born small and/or early- over one third of all stillbirths and neonatal deaths nationally are born to mothers resident in the most deprived fifth of wards  Children in poverty are disproportionately exposed to risks in development in the first year of life. e.g. inadequate nutrition, trauma, substance abuse and maternal depression  Poor children are at increased risk of dying throughout childhood and adolescence

Poverty, Deprivation and Children’s Health Children from disadvantaged areas are at higher risk of:  Mental health problems (three fold increase)  Not being fully immunised  Smoking regularly, drinking heavily and using hazardous drugs  Becoming obese  Becoming a teenage parent  Less likely to be breastfed

Inequality in Early Cognitive Development

Fair Society, Healthy Lives: Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England post 2010 –The Marmot Review The Marmot Review sets out six policy objectives for reducing health inequalities in England post 2010: 1.Giving every child the best start in life (highest priority recommendation) 2.Enabling all children, young people and adults to maximize their capabilities and have control over their lives 3.Creating fair employment and good work for all 4.Ensuring a healthy standard of living for all 5.Creating and developing sustainable places and communities 6.Strengthening the role and impact of ill-health prevention

Why tackle child poverty? –2.8m (22%) children live in relative income poverty (2008/2009) –Action is needed now to break the cycle of poverty and prevent it from impacting on future generations –Reducing child poverty can benefit the local economy in the long term –Child Poverty Act places duties on local authorities and partner organisations to co-operate to tackle child poverty –Local partners can also maximise the expertise of unnamed partner organisations when meeting these duties – such as those in the third sector

Action is needed now to help break the cycle of poverty Children lack opportunities Families live in poverty Children have worse outcomes Children do not reach their full potential

Comparing out of work and in-work relative poverty Children in out of work families are more likely to be in relative poverty than those where at least one parent is in work. About half of children in relative poverty are in families where at least one parent works. Source: Households Below Average Income 2008/09 *Figures may not sum due to rounding 200,000 (9%) 1,300,000 (46%) 800,000 (29%) 400,000 (16%) 64% 54% 16% CouplesLone Parents In work Out of work % of all children in this family type who live in relative poverty Number and proportion of children in this family type who live in relative poverty 14%

Ending child poverty must be everybody’s business From: Ending Child Poverty: Making it Happen (CPU 02/09) It requires national, regional and local action: services are key to ensuring the ‘building blocks’ are a reality for all poor families in their area.

Data on NI children living in poverty (2008) Local Authority % all children living in poverty Southampton26.5 Portsmouth24.0 Slough23.9 Brighton & Hove22.0 Reading21.5 England20.9 Isle of Wight20.2 Medway20.1 Milton Keynes19.6 East Sussex17.7 Kent17.0 South East14.5 West Sussex12.8 Oxfordshire11.7 Hampshire11.6 Buckinghamshire10.5 Bracknell Forest10.4 West Berkshire10.2 Surrey 9.9 Wokingham 6.8 Windsor & Maidenhead 9.7

Picture in Reading Map 1 shows the areas in Reading with the highest pockets of Child Poverty according to the NI 116 measurement of children living in households where income is below 60% of average UK earnings. This equates to aprox £12, 000 or less per household. This data is based on 2007 figures The South of Reading has the highest levels of child poverty with significant pockets in the East, North and West.

Child Poverty-implications for services Map 5 shows numbers of children who have become Looked After by postcode since April 2008 mapped onto the IDACI-Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index. The IDACI index demonstrates the proportion of children living in income deprivation in a small area. The largest numbers of children who have become looked after are from areas of high poverty and deprivation. Cost of one child’s time in care for one year is approx. £36,000. One large black blob on map represents 10 LAC children

What Can The Local Strategic Partnership Do To Reduce the Level of Child Poverty in Reading?