Thanks to a number of timely public interventions, most notably from Marcus Rashford, child poverty has been in the public spotlight in recent months. But how might Council Tax impact child poverty in a given area?

To provide a perspective on this, we researched the 10 constituencies with the highest increases in child poverty between 2015 and 2020. We show the Child Poverty Rate, the average Council Tax bill and the average household saving if we moved to a fairer system – the Proportional Property Tax

 

These are the 10 Constituencies with the highest five-year increases in child poverty:

1) Middlesbrough

MP: Andy McDonald (Lab)

Child Poverty Rate: 45.6%

Average Council Tax: £1,300

Tax Saving with Fairer Share: £850 (100% of households better off)

2) Birmingham Yardley

MP: Jess Phillips MP (Lab)

Child Poverty Rate: 46.1%

Average Council Tax: £1,100

Tax Saving with Fairer Share: £450 (95% of households better off)

3) Newcastle upon Tyne Central

MP: Chi Onwurah MP (Lab)

Child Poverty Rate: 45.4%

Average Council Tax: £1,150

Tax Saving with Fairer Share: £750 (99% of households better off)

4) Sedgefield

MP: Paul Howell MP (Con)

Child Poverty Rate: 35.9%

Average Council Tax: £1,400

Tax Saving with Fairer Share: £850 (100% of households better off)

5) Jarrow

MP: Kate Osborne MP (Lab)

Child Poverty Rate: 35.7%

Average Council Tax: £1,250

Tax Saving with Fairer Share: £750 (99% of households better off)

6) Gateshead

MP: Ian Mearns MP (Lab)

Child Poverty Rate: 38.2%

Average Council Tax: £1,300

Tax Saving with Fairer Share: £850 (100% of households better off)

7) Newcastle upon Tyne North

MP: Catherine McKinnell MP (Lab)

Child Poverty Rate: 32.6%

Average Council Tax: £1,300

Tax Saving with Fairer Share: £650 (98% of households better off)

8) Newcastle upon Tyne East

MP: Nicholas Brown MP (Lab)

Child Poverty Rate: 38.1%

Average Council Tax: £1,200

Tax Saving with Fairer Share: £700 (99% of households better off)

9) Birmingham Ladywood

MP: Shabana Mahmood MP (Lab)

Child Poverty Rate: 54.5%

Average Council Tax: £1,150

Tax Saving with Fairer Share: £600 (98% of households better off)

10) Bradford West

MP: Naz Shah MP (Lab)

Child Poverty Rate: 47.3%

Average Council Tax: £1,150

Tax Saving with Fairer Share: £600 (98% of households better off)

To see the data for all English Parliamentary constituencies, click here for Council Tax Burden and here for the impact of our reforms.