Parts of Bradford hard hit by child poverty, campaigners warn

One in five families in Yorkshire are struggling to provide their children with the basics because children’s benefits have not risen in line with the cost of living, new research from the coalition End Child Poverty shows.

A quarter of families in Yorkshire are cutting back on food and a fifth are cutting back on heating - a finding the group's chairman, David Holmes, called "deeply worrying".

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And Bradford is likely to be the hardest hit, because so many families in the city claim either child benefit, child tax credit or both.

In 2012, the previous coalition Government limited benefit rises to one per cent a year from 2013 to 2016.

But Mr Holmes called for this to end, saying child benefits should get the same 'triple lock' protection against cuts that the basic state pension got - meaning they would either rise in line with prices, earnings, or by 2.5 per cent, whichever is the highest.

He said: "It is deeply worrying that parents are having to cut back on food, heating and other essentials that their children need in order to develop and thrive. The new Government needs to seize the opportunity in the Queen’s Speech to stop the rise in child poverty."

According to the campaign group's analysis, Bradford East is the hardest hit constituency in Yorkshire, with nearly 15,000 families and 30,000 children affected by the real-terms benefit cut.

Labour MP for Bradford East, Imran Hussain, said he completely supported the campaign group's demands.

He said: "Representing a place like Bradford East, which has some of the highest deprivation levels in the country, I don't need to see statistics or figures to know this is an issue."

He said child benefits were "a lifeline for young families to provide heating, food and clothes".

He added: "People are having to cut back, to the detriment of these children. This situation is wholly intolerable."

Bradford West has the second highest number of affected families in Yorkshire, with Bradford South placed fifth, according to the research.

But a Treasury spokesman refuted the claims that families with children were not getting the necessary support.

She said: "The truth is that the percentage of people in the UK in relative poverty is at its lowest since the mid-80s and the Government has taken action to support low and middle income families with the costs of raising children.

“In the last Parliament, the child element of Child Tax Credit, available to families with children on the lowest incomes, was increased by £180 above inflation, to help support families on low incomes with children.

"The Government also helps families with the high costs of childcare – for example by funding 15 hours a week of free childcare for all three- and four-year-olds."