North East Child Poverty Commission

27/04/2026

🏠 Great to join the launch of the North East Housing Partnership's refreshed prospectus this morning at Sunderland College's Housing Innovation & Construction Skills Academy (HICSA), with a keynote from Kim McGuinness- North East Mayor.

The key, shared, message from today's event being that - with stability and dignity - children and families in our region can thrive.

Really positive to hear about the partnership's ongoing commitment to tackling child poverty as housing providers, as major employers in the region, and as community anchors.

06/04/2026

📢 Today is a good day for children, as the two-child limit in Universal Credit is officially lifted.

🚸 Across the UK, 450,000 babies, children and young people will be lifted out of poverty as a result of this hugely important measure. Tens of thousands of families across our region will feel the gain from next month.

💪 We've been proud to be part of the End Child Poverty Coalition, working with 140 organisations across the country to call for this change - and remain grateful to the 100+ cross-sector North East organisations who joined forces with us to demonstrate the strength of support across our region for scrapping this policy (more here: https://tinyurl.com/33crfuvj)

02/04/2026

🌸 🐣 Take a look at what's in the Spring 2026 edition of our e-newsletter, with a round up of news from NECPC and our partners - including a 'hold the date' notice for a new event we're planning with others in Tees Valley.

You can also sign up to receive it straight to your inbox: https://mailchi.mp/18d2e07fda0f/necpc-e-news-spring-2026

26/03/2026

🚸 New data published by the Department for Work and Pensions today shows that almost 1️⃣ in 3️⃣ (30%) babies, children and young people across the North East were growing up in poverty in 2024/25.

Today’s figures indicate that the very highest rates of child poverty in the North East are found in parts of Middlesbrough and Newcastle – with more than 4 in 10 children (44%) growing up below the poverty line in the Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency, followed by 40% in Newcastle Central and West.

The data highlights why the welcome measures included in the Government's new national child poverty strategy can only be the first step towards reducing and ending child poverty in the North East.

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬, 𝐒𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐞, 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝟐𝟐, 𝐚 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝:

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩 – 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯.

‘𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

‘𝘕𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘮 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 – 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦. 𝘕𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘶𝘱.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 – 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵.’

Read our full response to today's new data - including quotes from our Vice Chairs Suzanne Jobson of Children North East and Sean Harris FCCT of Tees Valley Education, alongside Sophie Livingstone MBE - new Chair of the national End Child Poverty Coalition ⤵️

https://nechildpoverty.org.uk/news/new-government-data-shows-1-in-3-north-east-children-growing-up-in-poverty

24/03/2026

'𝗔 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲'

Earlier this year, the Education and Work & Pensions Committees in Parliament announced a joint inquiry into the Government's new national child poverty strategy (https://tinyurl.com/3843yrsp).

Alongside many other organisations across the country, the North East Child Poverty Commission has submitted written evidence to this inquiry - which was published by the Committees today.

Our evidence focussed on:

◼️ The ambition of the strategy
◼️ The drivers and outcomes set out in the strategy
◼️ The measures we called for in our written submission to the Government's Child Poverty Taskforce (https://tinyurl.com/2stdk9k7) that 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 included in the strategy
◼️ How the strategy could be strengthened for children and families in the North East
◼️ Monitoring and evaluating progress on the strategy

In summary, our evidence described the strategy as '𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦'.

You can now read our full submission on the Committees' inquiry page: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/163520/pdf/

23/03/2026

Last week, the Bill that officially ends the two-child limit in Universal Credit went through its final stage and is now law.

This will lift tens of thousands of babies, children and young people across the North East out of poverty - and will see tens of thousands more living in less deep hardship.

It is a critical first step in improving living standards and breaking down barriers to opportunity for children throughout our region.

Thank you once again to the 100+ cross-sector organisations working in all parts of the North East who came together with us to urge the Government to scrap this policy. Read more: https://nechildpoverty.org.uk/news/north-east-campaigners-send-hard-hitting-two-child-limit-message

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/two-child-limit-scrapped-as-historic-bill-to-lift-450000-children-out-of-poverty-becomes-law

Historic legislation to end the two-child limit has become law, putting 450,000 children on a pathway out of poverty in the final year of this Parliament.

23/03/2026

A detailed update from one of our members, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, on the extensive work taking place through their local child poverty network to reduce poverty for families, and open up opportunities for children and young people, across the borough 👇

🗨️ "Reducing child poverty isn't just a priority for us - it is a moral responsibility."

A report presented to Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's Cabinet yesterday, Thursday 12 March, highlighted the wide range of practical measures delivered by the Council and its partners to reduce inequality and ensure every child has the best start in life.

✅ Nearly 400 children were auto-enrolled to receive free school meals last year, with an increase of almost £500,000 in pupil premium.
✅ More than 10,000 HAF (Holidays are Fun) Programme sessions were attended, which provided over 14,000 free, funded holiday activities and healthy meals.
✅ Families were also able to access free school uniform through the Council's four Family Hubs, as well as prom outfits and a range of cost-of-living support services such as welfare and budgeting advice.

Councillor Clare Besford, the Council's Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: "Reducing child poverty isn't just a priority for us - it is a moral responsibility. No child should ever feel the weight of disadvantage, and we are determined to stand alongside families to ensure every young person in our Borough has the chance to flourish.

"Every child deserves the best possible start in life. They deserve the opportunity to grow, dream and achieve. Seeing the real, tangible difference our support is making is incredibly heartening. When we put people at the centre of every decision, we not only help ease financial pressures, but help build a future where all children can thrive, no matter their circumstances."

The work forms part of the Council's commitment to reducing poverty and inequality through its Powering our Futures programme, A Fairer Stockton-on-Tees and Anti-Poverty Strategy 2024 to 2027, as well as key priorities in the Stockton-on-Tees Plan.

Read more 👇
https://www.stockton.gov.uk/article/20692/Tackling-child-poverty-in-Stockton-on-Tees

16/03/2026

We're really pleased to see this continued commitment from Sunderland, UK - part of the NECPC network - to proactively ensuring all eligible families are identified and registered for free school meals 👇

Sunderland's 'auto-enrolment' work has so far seen an additional 657 eligible pupils across the city registered for this support, with many other North East authorities also trialling and adopting this approach.

In the meantime, we - alongside NECPC members including Northumbria University's Prof. Greta Defeyter OBE and Schools North East - have long campaigned for national Government to use the data it holds to implement a national system of auto-enrolment for free school and college meals, given the evidence and impact of this proactive work from our region.

Led by Sunderland City Council and Together for Children, the initiative previously helped 657 pupils join the scheme, after it was discovered that some

12/03/2026

Great to see part of our North East Child Poverty Commission network, South Tyneside Council, strengthening their work tackling child poverty across the borough through expanding their work with local schools. Read more ⤵️

South Tyneside Council has appointed two new School Poverty Policy Officers to strengthen its work to help 'reduce the cost of the school day' and support families facing financial pressure.

25/02/2026

Important piece by Graham Whitham from Resolve Poverty, on the potential unintended consequences of lifting the two-child limit, if the interaction of this with 'income-banded' Council Tax Reduction schemes isn't addressed.

This is an issue we've been asking North East MPs to raise with Government, as six of our region's twelve local authorities currently operate income-banded Council Tax Reduction schemes. Read our briefing on this here: https://nechildpoverty.org.uk/news/universal-credit-removal-of-two-child-limit-bill

https://www.resolvepoverty.org/government-to-act-now-to-avoid-this-unintended-consequence-of-removal-of-the-two-child-limit/

Resolve Poverty calls on Government to act now to avoid this unintended consequence of removal of the Two-Child Limit

12/02/2026

Our Director will be speaking at Resolve Poverty's Annual Conference 2026 next month - exploring devolution, regional anti-poverty activity and how this can help build good lives for all babies, children, young people & families.

Don’t miss out and book your tickets here: https://www.resolvepoverty.org/conference-2026/