Plea Over Child Poverty Hotspots

from This Is South Wales

EMMA DENHOLM

Children in Neath and Port Talbot have been identified as some of the most deprived in Wales.Social policy charity, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, based the findings on the numbers of children living with families claiming out-of-work benefits.

It showed the county had eight wards where the proportion of these children was at least twice the national average of 21 per cent - putting it second in a Welsh league of child poverty. Some had more than 50 per cent of youngsters in that situation, according to latest figures.

Neath Port Talbot councillor John Warman, described the figures as shocking and demanded action. He said: "A lot of work needs to be done in the new year and we need the commitment of everybody to identify and tackle this problem urgently."

Councillor Warman said he had witnessed first-hand the type of poverty some families were forced to endure.

"Some people are just surviving, there are no computers in those homes," he added.

"They are struggling just to meet their basic bills.

"It used to be visible years ago and was out on the streets. Now it is behind the scenes and when you go into those houses, you see it first-hand."

The eight wards are Briton Ferry West Sandfields West, Cymmer, Gwynfi, Aberavon, Neath East, Sandfields East, Glyncorrwg, which compares with a total of 64 such wards across Wales.

Neath Port Talbot comes second in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation table only to Rhondda Cynon Taf, with 12 wards.

Work is already underway to address the issues raised in the charity's report.

One example of such efforts is the Flying Start initiative, aimed at improving the lives of children aged under four. It is being rolled out across the seven poorest areas of Neath Port Talbot, and will see youngsters getting extra health and education opportunities.

Explaining how the figures reflect quality of life for youngsters, a spokesman for the charity said: "It does not count all people who are poor, but it is a good indicator of how bad poverty is in different areas."