Children in Blackpool in Poverty

9,500 Children in Blackpool living in Poverty

Child poverty is on the increase (image posed by an actress)

Almost 9,500 children live in poverty in Blackpool – roughly a third of all children in the family resort.

Ironically in the week that we have had the press go overboard about the birth of  Prince George of Cambridge, The Gazette in Blackpool published a feature, with the above titles, about a report from The Child Poverty Action Group, which found that about a third of children in Blackpool are living in poverty. This sounds almost Dickensian, but this is Blackpool in the twenty first century, where many parents go hungry to feed their kids.

When I first moved to Blackpool more than 35 years ago Blackpool was one of the most prosperous towns in the North West of the U.K. But under investment and wrong decisions made by Blackpool Council have turned it into one of the most deprived areas in the country. It is a black spot for unemployment and low wages, and many of the jobs that are available are part time or seasonal.

The place has also become a dumping ground for vulnerable people, and many of the old hotels and guest houses have been turned into cheap private housing. This attracts poor people from other towns, so perpetuating the poverty cycle. 

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Many of the families using Food Banks in Blackpool are actually working for the minimum wage and can't afford to feed themselves or their families. Because a child is clean and well presented to the world doesn't mean they are not living in poverty. Clothes could have been bought from a charity or donated by a friend or family member. I applaud the council initiative to give every child in primary schools a free breakfast, but wonder why it wasn't carried on to senior schools as well.

I agree with Ian Duncan Smith that the benefit budget should be cut, but where I would disagree is the way this has been done. Yes, benefits should be there only as a safety net, but that safety net should provide people with a means of living a dignified life. I get as angry as the next person at people who have made claiming benefits a career, and while there are many people like that, the majority of Benefits Claimants are people who are actively seeking work, or genuinely unable to work.

If this or any other government is serious about tackling poverty by getting people back to work, job creation schemes are essential, people cannot work if there are no jobs, no matter how much their benefits are cut. It is also essential to make sure those in work are actually earning enough to live on, so the minimum wage should actually reflect a living wage.