Poverty is destroying the life chances of over 100,000 children in Cheshire and Merseyside – statement calls for urgent action

5 September 2024

A group of leaders from Cheshire and Merseyside ranging from public health, the NHS, Children’s Services and the voluntary sector, have joined forces to publish a statement on the urgent need to end child and family poverty in the subregion
The statement has been written in response to a report commissioned by Directors of Public Health and Population Health on the current state of child and family poverty in Cheshire and Merseyside’s nine local authority areas (Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Warrington and Wirral) and the impact this has on health and wellbeing
The report – ‘A rapid situational analysis on child and family poverty in Cheshire and Merseyside’ – found that 100,300 children and young people are currently living in relative low-income families. The national average for England of children and young people living in relative low-income families is 19.8%, this means that the rate in Cheshire and Merseyside (22.3%) is higher. The report also found that 60% of children in poverty were living in a household with parents or carers that are in work. The statement labels these findings as “outrageous”.
As well as highlighting the issue, the statement calls for urgent, coordinated action to ensure that all partners work together to meet a shared ambition of no child in Cheshire and Merseyside living in poverty.

The full statement is below.

Today, we are asking you to join us on our urgent mission to eradicate child and family poverty from the Cheshire and Merseyside subregion.

An independent report, commissioned by the subregion’s Directors of Public Health and Population Health, who work together as the Champs Public Health Collaborative, has lifted the lid on the sheer scale of poverty in Cheshire and Merseyside and the unacceptable impact that this has on our children.

This situation is outrageous. In our subregion we have 100,300 children living in poverty. This amounts to 22.3% of all children and young people, which is higher than the national average of 19.8%. There are pockets of poverty in each of our nine local authorities, with some households facing greater deprivation, for example single-parent families and those who are an ethnic minority. Many hold the view that poverty comes about as a result of not having a job, this is simply not true. This report shows that 60% of children in poverty were living in a household with parents or carers that are in work.

Poverty latches onto children before they are born, stays with them their entire lives, and continues to cause harm for many generations after. It ruins lives, and has far-reaching consequences for society and the economy.

Children living in poverty are more likely to be born underweight and die before they reach their first birthday. Their teeth are decaying by the time they are five years old, and they are not able to learn and develop like other children their age. They are also more likely to be obese, have asthma and poor mental health, and levels of teenage pregnancies are higher than those not in poverty.

We will say it again: there are 100,300 children living in poverty in our subregion. These children, who deserve to be born into a world that provides them with all the conditions and opportunities they need to thrive, are instead suffering.

This is an injustice and it must stop. Our ambition is that no child in Cheshire and Merseyside lives in poverty.

This report marks the beginning of this. Today, we are joining forces across a range of partners and organisation to ask our entire system to read the report, share far and wide and do what they can to help us meet our ambition.

Sincerely,

Champs Public Health Collaborative

Dr Matt Tyrer, Director of Public Health for Cheshire East
Professor Helen Bromley, Director of Public Health Cheshire West and Chester
Dr Ifeoma Onyia, Director of Public Health for Halton
Dr Sarah McNulty, Director of Public Health for Knowsley
Professor Matt Ashton, Director of Public Health for Liverpool
Margaret Jones, Director of Public Health for Sefton
Ruth Du Plessis, Director of Public Health for St Helens
Debbie Watson, Director of Public Health for Warrington
Dave Bradburn, Director of Public Health for Wirral
Professor Ian Ashworth, Director of Population Health NHS Cheshire and Merseyside

Cheshire and Merseyside, Directors of Children’s Services Network

Endorsed by a representative of the Cheshire and Merseyside Directors of Children’s Services Network

Voluntary Sector North West

Warren Escalade, Chief Executive Voluntary Sector North West

Cheshire and Merseyside Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) Children and Young People Network

Dave Packwood, Chair of the Cheshire and Merseyside Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) Children and Young People Network

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside

Professor Ian Ashworth, Director of Population Health NHS Cheshire and Merseyside

Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership

Councillor Louise Gittins, Co-chair of the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership
Rev Canon Dr Ellen Loudon, Co-chair of the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership