MP urges minister to act on ‘heartbreaking’ South Lakes child poverty figures

Local MP Tim Farron has written to the Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd calling for the introduction of 'poverty impact assessment clauses' on all new laws after new figures revealed that almost 1 in 4 children in South Lakeland are currently living below the poverty line.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 23% of children in the district are living in poverty after housing costs are taken into account.

Kendal Kirkland and Kendal Underley have the joint highest proportion in South Lakeland, with 34.6% of young people living below the breadline.

Tim said: "It's absolutely heart-breaking to see that in my own village of Milnthorpe that 22% of kids are living below the poverty line, and in the centre of Kendal just a stones throw away from my office, that number is over 1 in 3.

"Clearly there are policy changes that are making life even more difficult for the least well-off, and if you're already in that situation then you simply cannot afford even the slightest dip in your income.

"We really need to be putting the least-well off at the forefront we need to be putting these people at the forefront of our minds when we pass laws."