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The Dispossessed: Eight out of 10 children live in poverty in three areas of city
Genevieve Roberts and Jonathan Prynn30 Jul 2010
Eighty per cent of children grow up in "intolerable" poverty in London's most deprived areas, the Evening Standard has learned.
The highest levels of all are found in Tottenham with 80.3 per cent of children living in low-income homes, according to research by Barnardo's.
The study defined children in poverty as those raised in families receiving the maximum Child Tax Credit.
Poplar and Limehouse, and Bethnal Green and Bow came second and third on the Barnardo's list, which ranked each parliamentary constituency by levels of child poverty. Both had almost eight out of every 10 children living in poverty.
Across the capital as a whole there were 36 constituencies where more than half of all children live in households entitled to the maximum credit.
Martin Narey, chief executive of Barnardo's, said: "Child poverty affects us all, whether we realise it or not. It is generally the root cause of crime, ill physical and mental health, unemployment, community and family breakdown in the capital. Its affects aren't just social, but also economic.
"The repercussions of allowing it to continue in London are a further generation of workless, poverty stricken adults bringing up their own children in poverty."
In Tottenham parents spoke of the constant struggle to make ends meet. Sylvia Tudikova, 31, who lives with her one-month-old daughter Sophie in Tottenham Hale, said paying her £700-a-month rent looked impossible with her maternity pay about to drop to £400 a month.
"I expect it to be very tough. A pack of nappies costs around £10 and formula milk is £1 a day," she said.
Ms Tudikova has recently applied for full housing benefit, saying: "I hope the council will help me. I've avoided taking out a loan at the moment but it's going to be a hard couple of years ahead."
Annette Joseph, 40, lives with her three children, Jahim, nine, Ian, seven, and 22-month-old Shenaye in Tottenham. The family survives on £700 a month after housing costs - about £6 per person per day. "There's nothing in the cupboard at the moment and I have to wait another two weeks until I've got money," said Mrs Joseph.
Maria Nalunkuma, 38, lives with her two-year-old daughter Samantha in Tottenham Hale and earns £1,100 a month from her four-days-a-week work as a support worker for a community project.
After housing costs she and her daughter have £8 each day to live on. She said: "We can't go on holidays. I buy Samantha new things instead of myself."
Beneath the surface affluence of even the wealthiest constituencies, including Twickenham, Wimbledon and Richmond, one in five children are living in poverty.
Neera Sharma, assistant director of policy at Barnardo's, said: "London is one of the worst regions for child poverty rates in the country."
Reader views (16)
Reading the comments, I find a lot of you people talk from a position of ignorance. "Why do people who plead poverty keep on having child after child?" That's such an unfair generalisation, If your not in these areas, come and stay here for a bit and experience.
Prices are going up and people's wages and jobs are going down, someone asked a good question "I noticed there was no mention of the men in these women's lives. Where are the fathers?", on quite a high rate, fathers aren't around, either fleeting off somewhere else, beating their child's mothers and living off of them or simply not caring.
When someone is caught up in a system where they haven't money, a child to provide for, bills and in a single parent situation, its not as easy to say "budget better", When I was at home, I can't count the number of times I had to search for coins in the house at the end of the month to buy bread and milk for us. We don't have a TV, and I bought the computer in my house through building computers for people in school.
The problem is so much deeper than "budget better", the problem is first a social one, that has caused an economic problem ala London riots 2012.
Don't get me wrong, I do believe in forward movement and fixing your problems. That's why I'm in university now, aiming to get a job in finance to get my family out of this mess.
But don't talk like you know what's going on and how to fix it, ask questions and don't be so ignorant!
- Daniel Takyi, London, England, 02/01/2012 22:47
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Why do people who plead poverty keep on having child after child?
It's not all about rights, they have a responsibility too.
- Susan london, London, 14/09/2010 16:36
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"The very nature of the definition used here: "Anyone who receives the maximum Child Tax Credit". It's ridiculous. They don't earn much money so the government tops it up for them. That's NOT poverty: It's simply a lack of wealth which is NOT the same thing."
Following on from what John said I can confirm it is a ridicoulous definition. I work in the tax field and we regularly tell people to have "income holidays" or buy kit to extract the maximum benefit from the tax credit system. They are not poor or in poverty by any strech of the imagination.
In addition somebody I know pays his ex-wife, who lives in a £3M property, nearly £ 100k a year in maintenance. She has six children but because the maintenance does not count as income she recives a huge amount (£7k plus) in tax credits.
I have been a consistent advocate of abolishing the tax credit system, which is no more than a crass redistribution of wealth. If you can't afford something go without or don't come to the UK expecting a hand-out!!!
- Mark, Gerrymandered African Republic of Southwark, 02/08/2010 10:31
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You can carry on swopping people around to different countries as much as you like, I shall still be here. I refuse to leave to make way for somebody from African Continent or any other Continent.
- Davey_buoy, Chertsey, 31/07/2010 16:58
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- Jung, London, 31/07/2010 10:30
This article is an insult to the hundreds of millions of people around the world who ARE actually living in 'intolerable' poverty,
who live without access to things like running water, electricity, proper sanitation, a free education, a passport , a proper roof over their head ...
YOU FORGOT AND NO BENEFITS SYSTEM TO SPONGE OFF
- JL, London, 31/07/2010 14:57
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It’s a great pity that people don’t look into the history of the charities they support for I am sure if they did re Barnardo's they might well think twice. For whilst the last prime minister was apologizing before he left office for the great wrong done to thousands of child migrants what has not been addressed is the part played by Barnardo's who contrary to all that is good were one of the main agents used by the State to make possible such trafficking of defenceless children to Australia, NZ, Canada, Rhodesia and other countries stripped as they were in many a case of their own true identity and age even to the point of being told that either their parents were dead or didn’t love or want them, such was the evil intent that still to this day victims are lost in a vortex of grieving and emptiness and yes they suffered the worst of all possible child abuse. Suffice to say Barnardo's has much to answer for and as such should not be involved with children, full stop. In fact all they are is a well-oiled money making machine reason being that for the best part they act as a referral agency to the already public funded Social Service, suffice to say any monies they have should be given to their victims but unfortunately however it will be at your expense the donator should you continue to support Barnardo’s.
- Ellis, Barnstaple UK, 31/07/2010 14:00
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This article is an insult to the hundreds of millions of people around the world who ARE actually living in 'intolerable' poverty,
who live without access to things like running water, electricity, proper sanitation, a free education, a passport , a proper roof over their head ...
It seems this bizarre definition of poverty actually means "not rich'.
- Jung, London, 31/07/2010 10:30
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I believe the Evening Standard has the best intentions for it's anti-poverty campaign, I applaud you for it.
I know too that there are real & genuine cases of serious hardship in the capital, again, I applaud your efforts to help highlight that.
What I don't understand is some of the cases you highlight as 'poverty', when some are wholly self-inflicted, and in others they are patently not poverty at all.
If a woman already has two children and is finding things financially difficult, why have a third? Is that not negligence?
The woman who 'only' has £8 per day for herself and her daughter AFTER all housing costs. That's £240 per month. Not wealthy by any means, but certainly not my definition of poverty either.
The very nature of the definition used here: "Anyone who receives the maximum Child Tax Credit". It's ridiculous. They don't earn much money so the government tops it up for them. That's NOT poverty: It's simply a lack of wealth which is NOT the same thing.
Poverty, TRUE poverty, is a lack of a home, a lack of food, heat and proper clothing. It does exist in this country, but it is quite rare.
To suggest that over 80% of the children in some London boroughs live in poverty is absurd, it is political posturing from certain charities and it drains credence from your otherwise worthwhile campaign.
From this metric I myself grew up in poverty - but I did not.
Some people simply need to learn budgeting skills, and that a lack of luxury is not in itself poverty.
- John, London, 30/07/2010 23:27
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Like anything in life if you can't afford it, don't have it. The same applies to children, why should the tax payer subsidise the irresponsibility and selfishness of others?
- Jon Vanner, London, 30/07/2010 21:07
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Of the pictures shown it is a pity we don't see more British cases of poverty. The balance seems to be in favour of Africans. What about those who cannot afford to struggle to our shores ?
- michael, London, UK, 30/07/2010 19:24
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Why is my Evening Standard getting involved with these Third World problems ???
- Davey_buoy, Chertsey, 30/07/2010 17:28
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Since most of these people seem not to be British, what are we doing by supporting them and encouraging them to have families when it is obvious that they cannot afford them? Are the invisible male partners playing their part in bringing up these children? Why are we not importing whole tribes of Africans into the country to save time processing them?
- jonathan montmorency, cooden, uk, 30/07/2010 16:42
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I noticed there was no mention of the men in these women's lives. Where are the fathers?
- James Kaster, London, England, 30/07/2010 14:51
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I will contribute to this cause, if you promise to spend my money buying and distributing condoms.
It is like pretty much anything else in society, if you can't afford it ...
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 30/07/2010 14:42
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Can you PLEASE fix the glitch on all your comments sections.
What exactly are you waiting for?
- Croyboy, Croydon, UK, 30/07/2010 14:11
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"Eighty per cent of children grow up in "intolerable" poverty in London's most deprived areas..."
Depends what you mean by "intolerable": I'll bet their conditions are infinitely more
"tolerable" than what they experienced back home in the Third World.
Oh, yes, and if anyone wants to take action over this so-called "poverty", perhaps the Powers That Be could indicate how many more people they're going to allow into the UK, because without this information any campaign to eliminate it is meaningless.
- Croyboy, Croydon, UK, 30/07/2010 13:41
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