North East campaigners hail Government child poverty plan as 'huge step forward'

Stocks of food at a Trussell Trust food bank (Image: PA)

A Government plan to reduce child poverty has been welcomed in the North East as a “huge step forward”. Child poverty rates in the region are among some of the highest in the country, growing significantly over the last 10 years.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said tackling the issue is a “moral mission for me” and described the Government’s new strategy on child poverty “sets a new course for national renewal, with children’s life chances at its heart”. The Government said failure to tackle child poverty also holds back the economy, with young people growing up in these circumstances doing less well in school, being more likely to be unemployed when older and earning less.

The key move to scrap the controversial two-child be