Recently published research by Sussex Community Foundation estimates that 40% of children in Rye live in households below the poverty line. This places Rye in second place in Rother’s child poverty index and within the 20% most deprived wards in England.
The area’s shocking level of poverty will be discussed at Rother District Council’s (RDC) Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Monday October 14.
In its draft paper the Council recognises that the causes of poverty, and child poverty, are ‘multiple and complex’. In turn, the paper highlights the new challenges that have arisen since the financial crisis of 2008 and the imposition of austerity measures on local services by central government.
The Council says it has recently seen a rise in homelessness and food bank use, which has occurred in parallel with the rise in demand for social care and health services associated with supporting an ageing population, all of which is straining Council resources.
At its meeting on October 16, RDC is expected to agree to the setting up of an anti-poverty group to investigate the causes and effects of poverty locally. The group will investigate how council policies and services impact on poverty, particularly when delivering key functions such as assessing housing need and housing benefit services. In addition to tackling poverty effectively, RDC is expected to recommend that a range of agencies work together locally, including social care, NHS, education, criminal justice departments as well as local voluntary groups, to help support those most vulnerable in society.
Image Credits: Rye News library .