Report shows city's children live in poverty
SWANSEA has the highest proportion of children living in poverty in Wales, with almost a quarter of the city's young living in workless households.
The statistics form part of a report commissioned by the council's Children and Young People's Overview and Scrutiny Board.
The review, which looks at the effect child poverty has on educational attainment, will go before Swansea Council's cabinet on Thursday.
Chairwoman of the Children and Young People's Overview and Scrutiny Board, Ceinwen Thomas, said: "We agreed to look at child poverty locally in some detail in August 2008 in order to see if there were areas of improvement that could be made and to help lessen the impact of poverty for many children and young people in Swansea."
Figures for Swansea show 24.8 per cent of children are living in workless households, where neither of their parents or guardians works.
That figure compares to an 18 per cent average across Wales and 15.3 per cent across the UK. However, the statistics only go up to 2008 and do not cover the past two years and the country's period of recession.
The report also said the scrutiny board found there were a number of excellent initiatives that contributed to the aims of reducing child poverty and its effect on educational attainment.
Schemes praised included Swansea Children's Centre in Penlan, which was described as a good multi- agency working example. Members of the board said they would like to see the service available to families across the city. The literacy scheme Bookstart also won praise from the board.
The report features a number of policy recommendations including developing a map of services that impact on children and young people and ensuring all council policies are "poverty-proofed".
Concerned
It also called for the council to continue its progress in working towards breaking the unemployment cycle by supporting projects such as Neets (Not in Education, Employment or Training).
Mrs Thomas added: "We were concerned to find just how many children in Swansea are living in poverty and consequences on their lives and future.
"We were keen to emphasise the local authority cannot address child poverty alone and that working in partnership with other organisations and the voluntary sector will be essential."
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by Linda, Neath
Thursday, July 29 2010, 10:29PM
“Juan Line - I answered steve best I could - have you got anything constructive to input - ANYTHING”
by Linda, Neath
Thursday, July 29 2010, 10:29PM
“Juan Line - I answered steve best I could - have you got anything constructive to input - ANYTHING”
by Kevin, Bradford
Thursday, July 29 2010, 8:56PM
“Steve, Swansea.
Why are these internet forums full of comments from obnoxious, right-wing bores such as yourself?
It's a serious question: if you take a look at, for example, a BBC forum on virtually any topic, or any local newspaper site up and down the land, the vast majority of comments come from clowns like you.
Are you all in the pay of the Daily Mail, or what?
You might as well be, for all the 1/2 baked twaddle you spout.
Just one example: it's a typical tabloid press ruse to seek out (and God, I bet they have to look hard) some feckless family or other who live in some "mansion" or other at "our expense".
The real truth is that the vast majority of people on benefits live miserable, constricted lives.
But for some extraordinary reason I never seem to see any stories about these people in the Sun, Mail, Express, Times, Star, Evening Standard etc.
Get real, you fool: can't you see the obvious propaganda here.
And why on earth people think they're so clever by pointing to the "real poverty" of the 3rd World, I don't know. Of course 3rd World poverty is a disgrace etc. etc.
But don't use that fact run away from the disgraceful levels of income inequality (the highest in Europe) and "relative poverty" in the UK.
So, Steve, you claim to know loads of lazy benefit claimants living the life of Reilly, do you? I don't know any.
But I do come across lots of loaded, over-paid, arrogant, lazy wazzocks.
It works both ways. You think Mick is a demented ranter. You're not much better yourself.
I far prefer his partiality to yours.”
by Juan Line, Rest Padding
Thursday, July 29 2010, 6:55PM
“The review which is placed before Swansea Council today is about the effect child poverty has on educational attainment.
Do Steve, Swansea and Linda, Neath have any comments that are related to the actual subject of the report?”
by Linda, Neath
Thursday, July 29 2010, 5:14PM
“Steve, Swansea how can you say that we should have higher quality jobs than people in less economically advanced countries ? India and China now lead the world in technology so where are the 'high quality jobs' going to come from? Basically what I am saying is that we need to support ourselves. I agree with you on one point which is many of the lazy in this country are better off that those who actually work. However this is a generalisation that skews the truth as and I think many others would agree that laziness does not always equate to being out of active employment. There are many in paid employment who are far lazier than many people who have no work. The unemployed should get the worst housing ? Should a man who has worked all his life and now finds himself unable to pay his mortgage through being out of work be moved to a slum? Mans inhumanity to man again and again. There is a Cree proverb that many would do well to heed which says simply :-
Not until the last fish is caught,
The last tree has been felled,
The last river poisoned,
Will man realise, that he cannot eat money.
How many banks took their call cetres to India Steve? How do we eat when we have to import all our food ? Is climate change true? If it is why are we using filthy fossil fuels to bring in food from other countries and killing our own planet when it could be grown here. Higher quality jobs Steve - where and what ?”