Children in poverty in the region are at risk of falling further behind - The Yorkshire Post says

It lays bare the impact of regional inequalities, even in a developed society such as Britain’s.

The report found that children in the North are some of the least protected from the current cost of living crisis.

With child poverty, including fuel poverty and food insecurity, higher in the North than the rest of England.

The current precarious economic landscape is likely to deepen an enduring child poverty crisis in the region.

In Yorkshire, child poverty is now the highest it has been since 2000/2001.

This is both deeply concerning and shameful for a country that counts itself as a developed economy.

It serves to highlight the desperate need for levelling up to deliver for the North. The flagship policy was about bridging regional inequalities. But as Sir Stephen Houghton so eloquently highlights in The Yorkshire Post today, it is going through an identity crisis.

What it shows is the Government’s failure to level up and these are the consequences.

The region’s future, these children, are being held back through no fault of their own. They are victims of circumstance.

How can they be expected to learn at school on an empty stomach? How can they develop to their full potential when there is no room to study in peace at home? How do they avoid future health complications when their homes are affected by damp?

Unless the Government acts, rising living costs will undermine the chances of an entire generation of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. That isn’t levelling up.