Third of region's children 'poor'

Most people in Yorkshire want more money to go on tackling poverty

One in three children in Yorkshire lives in poverty, according to figures published in a new report.

The children's charity Barnardo's says 330,000 youngsters in the region are living in households getting by on less than 60% of the average income.

The charity described the figures for Yorkshire as "staggering".

The report also warns that the government is set to miss its target of halving child poverty by 2010 and eradicating it within a generation.

Poverty is defined as those families living on less than 60% of average income - less than £301 a week for a couple with two children.

Health problems

Barnardo's Yorkshire Director, Peter Allinson, said: "Recent figures show that a staggering 330,000 children in Yorkshire are classed as living in poverty, that's one third of the region's children.

"Children growing up in poverty have poorer health, have worse exam results and very frequently will fail to escape poverty in their adult lives.

"We need to break that cycle.

"Barnardo's is determined to keep child poverty at the forefront of people's minds and to make sure that the government works to honour its commitment to eradicating child poverty within a generation."

The charity said that spending £3.8bn would be enough to halve child poverty by the end of this decade - that is less than half the predicted £9bn cost of hosting the 2012 Olympics.

As part of the report, Barnardo's commissioned a You Gov report to gauge attitudes about child poverty.

It showed that 85% of people questioned in Yorkshire felt that if £9bn can be spent on the Olympic Games, £3.8bn should be spent on eradicating poverty.

But 79% thought it was unrealistic to believe that the government's pledge to halve child poverty would be kept.