Around 28% of children in North Northumberland live in relative poverty. That’s more than one in every four children starting out with extra barriers to overcome.

So I’m delighted that Labour NE Mayor Kim McGuinness has launched the North East Child Poverty Action Plan.

This plans aims to improve the lives of the 120,000 children living in poverty across the North East, and thousands of children and young people affected in North Northumberland.

The plan comes with £28million of funding for a range of approaches: including a pilot programme to support pregnant mums, baby boxes for new families on Universal Credit, and activities for young people to help them towards work.

Kim McGuiness, North East Mayor, said: “It’s no secret that the North East can be the best place in the world to grow up, to live and raise a family. Yet this isn’t the case for far too many babies, children and young people across our region, whose life chances
and outcomes are being limited by financial hardship and all the obstacles this creates.”