July 2010 Luton Family Poverty Needs Assessment

Child Poverty Act 2010 Local authorities must prepare and publish a Child Poverty Needs Assessment The Needs Assessment should include assessment of:  Extent of child poverty in the area  Child poverty risk factors  Drivers of child poverty

Luton Family Poverty Needs Assessment

Measuring child poverty The Child Poverty Act outlines 4 measures of child poverty that will be used: 1.Relative low income = Headline figure 2.Combined low income and material deprivation 3.Absolute low income 4.Persistent poverty

Measuring child poverty Rates comparing relative low income for families are now available nationally, regionally and for local areas NB Latest figures are from August 2007 Child Poverty rate (NI 116) = % of children living in families with income less than 60% of national median income

What is the average rate of child poverty in England? 118% 222% 226% 330% The national average child poverty rate is 21.6%

What is the child poverty rate in Luton? 118% 222% 226% 330% 30.2% of children in Luton live in poverty

Out of 48 local authorities in East of England where does Luton rank? (1 st = highest child poverty: 48 th = lowest child poverty) 11 st 44 th 77 th 110 th Luton has the highest child poverty in the region (Joint 1 st with Norwich)

Child Poverty in Luton Child poverty in Luton is much higher than the national average and almost twice the regional average Area Child Poverty % Luton30.2 England21.6 East of England 16.4

What is the difference in child poverty rates between the “poorest” and “richest” wards in Luton? 119% 225% 331% 337% 37.2% : Biscot has a child poverty rate of 44.5% and Bramingham 7.2%

Differences in child poverty across Luton There are 19 wards in Luton. 10 wards have child poverty rates above the average (30.2%) for the town. AreaChild Poverty % Biscot44.5 Dallow44.2 Northwell38.7 Farley36.9 South35.0 Saints34.4 High Town34.2 Leagrave33.8 Challney32.7 Lewsey30.9 Luton30.2

Differences in child poverty across Luton 9 wards in Luton have child poverty rates below the average (30.2%) for the town Area% Child Poverty Luton30.2 Crawley25.8 Round Green23.6 Sundon Park23.3 Limbury20.1 Wigmore14.7 Icknield13.3 Stopsley10.5 Barnfield9.6 Bramingham7.2

Differences in child poverty across Luton The differences in child poverty rates are even greater amongst Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs). LSOAs are small geographical areas (of about 1,500 people) within wards. There are 121 LSOAs in the 19 wards in Luton.

Which ward has LSOAs with the highest child poverty rates? SSouth DDallow NNorthwell BBiscot South has 3 LSOAs with child poverty rates of over 50%

Differences in child poverty across Luton 10 LSOAs in Luton have child poverty rates of over 50% 7 LSOAs have rates of less than 5% - the lowest being 1.5% in Sundon Park (5805). Ward (LSOA) Child Poverty % South (5789) 59.7 South (5795) 54.3 Biscot (5699) 53.3 Biscot (5704) 53.3 Dallow (5727) 53.0 Northwell (5771) 52.9 Northwell (5772) 52.7 High Town (5743) 52.3 Dallow (5725) 50.9 South (5794) 50.7

Child Poverty in Luton

How many children live in poverty in Luton? 66,000 99,000 112,000 115,000 15,290 children (aged 0-19) live in poverty in Luton

Which ward has the highest number of children in poverty? SSouth DDallow SSaints BBiscot Dallow has 2,270 children in poverty

Numbers of children living in poverty in Luton Of the 15,000 children living in poverty in Luton, over 12,250 (82%) live in the “poorest” 10 wards AreaChildren in poverty Dallow2,270 Biscot2,120 Saints1,490 Challney1,100 Farley1,085 Leagrave1,070 Lewsey1,025 Northwell960 South665 High Town470

Other indicators of child poverty  Income Deprivation Affecting Children – the IDACI is part of Index of Multiple Deprivation 2007 – there are 16 LSOAs in Luton that are amongst the 10% most deprived in England  Index of Child Well-Being 2009 – Luton is ranked 291 st out of 354 LAs in England – and 47 th out of 48 LAs in East of England

Index of Child Well-Being This index is based on 7 indices:  Material well-being  Health and disability  Education  Crime  Housing  Environment  Children at risk of being in need

Local Index of Child Well-Being

Risk factors for child poverty CChildren in workless households CChildren in lone parent families CChildren in large families CChildren with a disabled person in the household CChildren from a minority ethnic group (especially Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin)

Worklessness  Luton’s workless household rate is 18.5% which is the highest in the East of England  Unemployment is a lot worse in Luton (9.4%) than the average for the region (5.3%) From Local Economic Assessment 2010  JSA claimant rates in Luton (4.9%) are also higher than the region (3.2%) and higher than the national average (3.9%). Some wards have rates of over 6% (South, Northwell, Farley, Biscot, Dallow, and High Town) From Unemployment Bulleting – May 2010

Family type Nationally children in lone parent families are much more likely to live in poverty than children in families with two adults

Lone parent families in Luton In Luton the percentage of children in poverty in lone parent families is lower than the national and regional averages Area% of children in poverty in lone parent families % of children in poverty in couple families Luton England East of England

Family Size In Luton the percentage of children in poverty from larger families is much greater than the national and regional averages AreaChildren in poverty (%) 1 child2 children3 children4 children Luton England East of England

Ethnicity of children in Luton Ethnic group% of school children* Asian37.1 White British36.8 Black11.1 Mixed7.1 White Other4.8 White Irish1.1 Chinese0.3 Other1.7 * From Joint Strategic Needs Assessment – January 2009 Luton’s Asian children includes 20.2% Pakistani and 10% Bangladeshi

Almost 1 in 3 children are living in poverty in Luton In the Child Well-Being Index Luton is ranked is ranked 291 st out of 354 local authorities and 47 th out of 48 LA districts in the East of England (1st = high well-being) The IMD 2007 ranks Luton as the 87 th most deprived area out of 354 local authorities in England - and there are 16 LSOAs amongst the 10% most deprived in England in the IDACI In the East of England, Luton has the highest level of child poverty amongst 48 local authorities There is a marked difference in child poverty rates within Luton. Some local areas have child poverty rates of over 50% – while other have rates of less than 5% There are over 15,000 children living in poverty in Luton