In every London borough except Richmond, more than one in five children are growing up in poverty, data has shown.
The data from Trust for London, a charity which aims to tackle inequality, has also revealed that a child in Hounslow is twice as likely to be in poverty as a child in the neighbouring borough of Richmond.
This follows the publication of the government’s Child Poverty Strategy in December, which aims to lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030.
James Burton, project director at Feed London, which provides food boxes to families during the school holidays, told the South West Londoner that more should be done to prevent families relying on such services.
He said: “A lot of families talk about the indignity of having to go to food banks and get help from charities, it is awful.
“We shouldn’t exist, that’s the bottom line. Our objective is to stop existing because poverty has gone away.”
New measures include lifting the two-child benefit cap and expanding free school meals to all families receiving Universal Credit, with the government also pledging to fund free breakfast clubs in all primary schools in England.
Burton praised the scrapping of the ‘outrageous’ two-child benefit cap, calling the government move ‘a great breakthrough’.
The primary measure used to measure child poverty in the UK is household income. Relative poverty compares household income to the median, whereas absolute poverty refers to those in households with incomes below a fixed threshold.
No recourse to public funds
Researchers gathered this data between 2023 and 2024; however, it does not include an estimated 772,064 children in households with no recourse to public funds.
Having no recourse to public funds means that these families cannot claim most benefits, tax credits, or get housing assistance.
Evidence suggests that around a third of children living in deepest poverty are those in migrant households.
Feed London works in partnership with charities supporting those with no recourse to public funds to help families living on as little as £30 a week.
Post-pandemic challenges
Sunny Kharbanda is the operations manager at Hounslow Community FoodBox, which has been supporting families since 2013 by providing emergency food parcels.
The food bank receives referrals from across the borough, highlighting the existence of need from Feltham to Chiswick.
Kharbanda said: “The reasons why people are referred to use can vary from debt, low income, homelessness, and domestic abuse.
“We’ve experienced a five-fold rise in demand since the pandemic.
“Those levels haven’t gone down, we are continuing to see the same demand for our service.”
Burton echoed these concerns, suggesting that Feed London had seen a 63% rise in demand in the last two years.
“It’s getting worse, it’s not getting better,” he said.
Kharbanda noted a recent rise in demand for household essentials, such as toothpaste and nappies.
The Hounslow food bank has also supplied pet food. “Many pet owners would rather go hungry themselves than their pet,” he added.
Disparity in London
Richmond is one of only two London boroughs with levels of poverty below the average for England.
More than half of London boroughs have higher levels of poverty than England as a whole.
Child poverty in London is highest in Tower Hamlets, where 47% of children live in poverty, compared to 15% in Richmond.
Trust for London data shows that housing costs have a significant impact on poverty in the capital, with the poverty rate at least doubling in 21 of the 33 London boroughs when housing costs are taken into account.
Burton emphasised the role of a sharp wealth divide in London and suggested that extending existing free school meals provision into the school holidays could be part of the solution to tackling child poverty.
He said: “There is much more that the Government and local government could do.”
A spokesperson for Richmond Council said: “Whilst Richmond upon Thames has low overall deprivation based on measures of household income, the impact of poverty on children in Richmond is profound.
“We are aware that the gaps between disadvantaged children and their non-disadvantaged peers are wide and we are committed to supporting those who need it.
“The council has established an extensive cost of living programme, which includes support for low income families.
“This programme is funded through a £4.5m allocation to support residents with the rising cost of living in the borough.”
A spokesperson for Hounslow Council said: “Child poverty is a complex issue and Hounslow Council is acutely aware of the inequalities within the borough, identifying Equal Opportunities Areas for targeted improvements.
“This strategy seeks to improve employment and average household income for unemployed people and includes the targeting of unemployed women into work to increase average household income, for instance.”
Further efforts by the council to address child poverty include its Best Start Family Hubs, where donations of clothes and toys are given to children, and other Community Hubs to provide help with jobs and skills.
Featured image credit: Jacky Chapman (left) and James Burton (right), Feed London
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