A NEW report claims over 7,000 children in Harlow are living in what is called “relative poverty”.

The research, carried out by Loughborough University for the End Child Poverty Coalition, provides new information on child poverty across the East of England.

This highlights that a shocking 23% of all children in the region are living in relative poverty, after the cost of housing is considered. However, when looking at individual constituencies some are as high as 43% in the region.

In Harlow, over 27% of children in Harlow are said to be living in poverty. That is 7369 children.

Harlow

2015: 6252

2016: 6521

2017: 7158

2018: 7257

2019: 7768

2020: 7638

2021: 6998

2022: 7052

2023: 7094

2024: 7369

A child is deemed to be growing up in poverty if they live in a household whose income is 60% below the contemporary median income.

The median household disposable income in the UK for the financial year ending 2024 was £36,700.

This new data also shows that in 39% of constituencies in the region, at least 1 in 4 children are living in poverty. This could mean families using food banks to feed their children, children going without warm clothes in winter, or living in cold or unsafe housing.

And today’s report again illustrates how child poverty rates in constituencies across the country – including in the East of England – are ‘directly and strongly correlated’ with the percentage of children in the area living in families affected by the two-child limit policy in Universal Credit.

Since its introduction in April 2017, the two-child limit has meant that almost all families having a third or subsequent child are no longer entitled to receive support for those children through Universal Credit. Around 60% of families are hit by the two-child limit across the country are in work.

The End Child Poverty Coalition, representing over 135 organisations across the UK, is calling on the government to meet its manifesto commitment to address these high levels of child poverty in the East of England and across the rest of country.

This is a clear issue for Labour MPs as the majority of the constituencies in this region, with the highest rates of child poverty, are held by Labour MPs. In the constituency with the highest level of poverty,

Luton South and South Bedfordshire, almost half of children are growing up in poverty (43%). Meaning in a classroom of 30 children in this area 12 children would be living in poverty.

Joe Jenkins, Executive Director at The Children’s Society which is a member of the End Child Poverty Coalition

“It’s outrageous that we have this level of child poverty in the East of England with some areas hit particularly hard. Through our services, we see the distressing effects of poverty on children’s health and wellbeing with even more of our young people denied the basic necessities of food and clothing. 

“These figures should be a wake up call to Government to act quickly to prevent another generation of children from growing up in low-income families. The government’s upcoming child poverty strategy must invest in children and as a first step the government must scrap the two-child limit, a policy which continues to pull more and more children into poverty each day”.

Click below for more details.

Child Poverty Statistics 2025