Half of Walthamstow children live in poverty, researchers say

Researchers Dr Juliet Stone and Professor Donald Hirsch found that, during the 2018/19 financial year, 50.8 per cent of Walthamstow children lived in poverty.

Children under 16 are defined as living in poverty if their household earns less than 60 per cent of the median income, which during that year was £17,640 or less.

This means the area had the ninth highest percentage of children in poverty of all UK constituencies during that year.

As a whole Waltham Forest had the fifth highest percentage of child poverty in the UK, following closely behind Tower Hamlets, Newham, Barking & Dagenham and Hackney.

Read more: One in 10 Waltham Forest residents now out of work

The researchers used the Government’s own poverty figures, which do not consider the median cost of housing in each area, and then factored this in.

According to the original figures from the Department of Work and Pension, only around a quarter of Walthamstow children lived in poverty.

The number of children living in poverty is likely to have worsened over the lockdown period, as almost 11,000 Waltham Forest residents started having to claim benefits.

Around one in 20 of all businesses operating in the borough last year dissolved by May.

MP Stella Creasy was contacted for comment but has yet to respond.

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