One in ten Northern Ireland children in poverty

Save the Children says that one in ten children living in Northern Ireland are in relative poverty. That amounts to 40,000 children who are unable to be properly cared for.

From the BBC, we find out more about the statistics from Save the Children.

Head of Save the Children in Northern Ireland Fergus Cooper said that number would rise in 2011.

He said cuts in the executive's spending would begin to take effect and result in job losses.

He suggested that unless the government takes urgent action many more children will fall into severe poverty.

"Families are getting by on less than £7,000 a year for a lone parent with one child and less than £12,500 for a couple with two children," he said.
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The Northern Ireland figures are part of a UK-wide report, Severe Child Poverty: An Update, commissioned by Save the Children from the New Policy Institute, which reveals that 1.6m children across the UK live in the deepest poverty, a figure the charity said is "unacceptably high".

The report also revealed that in Northern Ireland there is a higher likelihood of severe poverty among children in households where no-one is employed. About 29% of children in workless families are affected by severe poverty compared to around 4% of children in families where at least one parent works.

The figures also show that the risk is far higher among children living in lone parent households. And they indicate that the problem is worse in western counties with severe child poverty standing at 12%, compared to 7% in the east and a level of 5% in Belfast.